The National Cryptographic Standards 1 Sharing Notice: White Introduction 1.1 Scope The National Cryptographic Standards (NCS - 1: 2020) defines the minimum cryptography requirements to be met by national entities when using cryptography to protect data (in use, at rest and in transit), systems and networks for civilian or commercial purposes. This cryptographic standards document is built with consideration of current and foreseeable advancements in the affordable computational power and assuming the absence of quantum computing capabilities. The document covers cryptography primitives, schemes, main protocols, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Key Lifecycle Management (KLM). While this document prescribes the minimum acceptable cryptographic requirements, it is extremely crucial to implement these requirements carefully to avoid implementationbased vulnerabilities. The NCS will be updated on an as-needed basis. The latest released version of the NCS overrides previous versions. 1.2 Levels of Cryptographic Standards The NCS defines two strength levels for cryptographic standards: the MODERATE level and the ADVANCED level. Having two strength levels provides more flexibility to choose the appropriate level of protection for different classes of data, systems and networks. Each national entity is required to choose and implement the appropriate cryptographic standard level based on the nature and sensitivity of the data, systems and networks to be protected. Furthermore, other cybersecurity regulations, issued by the NCA, may mandate the use of a particular cryptographic standard level to protect data, systems and networks. The MODERATE and ADVANCED strength levels are designed to target 128-bit and 256-bit security levels, respectively. Specific requirements for each strength level are specified throughout this document. Any requirement not specifically associated with one of these two strength levels applies equally to both. Document Classification: Open 9