NIST denies NSA tampering with encryption standards

The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has vigorously denied that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) tampered with NIST’s process of vetting and choosing encryption algorithms.

“NIST would not deliberately weaken a cryptographic standard,” NIST said in a statement Tuesday. “We will continue in our mission to work with the cryptographic community to create the strongest possible encryption standards for the U.S. government and industry at large.”