[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 2, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 11433]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4662]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[FAR-N-2011-01; Docket No. 2011-0083; Sequence 1]
Federal Transition To Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA)-256
AGENCY: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council, and the Defense
Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils), are hosting the first of at
least two public meetings to start a dialogue with industry and
Government agencies about ways for the acquisition community to
transition to Secure Hash Algorithm SHA-256. SHA-256 is a cryptographic
hash function that is used in digital signatures, and authentication
protocols.
DATES: Public Meeting: A public meeting will be held on March 18, 2011,
from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST. Attendees should register for the public
meeting at least 1 week in advance to ensure adequate room
accommodations.
Registrants will be given priority if room constraints require
limits on attendance. At the March 18th meeting, two briefings will be
provided on SHA-256. One will be at the agency level, and the other at
the Federal level. Public comments will be solicited after a subsequent
second public meeting.
Special Accommodations: The public meeting is physically accessible
to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation
or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Mr. Edward Loeb,
telephone (202) 501-0650, at least 5 working days prior to the meeting
date.
ADDRESSES: Public Meeting: The public meeting will be held in the
General Services Administration (GSA) Multipurpose Room, 2nd floor, One
Constitution Square, 1275 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20417.
Interested parties may register by faxing the following information to
the GSA at (202) 501-4067, or e-mail [email protected] by March 11,
2011:
(1) Company or Organization Name;
(2) Names of persons attending; and
(3) Last four digits of the social security number of persons
attending.
Please cite ``Federal Transition to Secure Hash Algorithm SHA-256'' in
all correspondence related to this public meeting.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For clarification of content, contact
Mr. Edward Loeb, Procurement Analyst, at (202) 501-0650. For
information pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact the
Regulatory Secretariat at (202) 501-4755. Please cite ``Federal
Transition to Secure Hash Algorithm SHA-256.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal environment uses SHA-1 for
generating digital signatures. Current information systems, Web
servers, applications and workstation operating systems were designed
to process, and use SHA-1 generated signatures. National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) SP (Special Publication) 800-57,
Recommendation for Key Management--Part 1, (the first document); and
NIST SP 800-78-3, Cryptographic Algorithms and Key Sizes for Personal
Identification Verification (PIV), at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsSPs.html, provide for the use of SHA-256 in all
digital signatures generated. NIST has issued guidance for transition
to stronger cryptographic keys, and more robust algorithms by December
2013.
Government systems may begin to encounter certificates signed with
SHA-256, and in most cases it is unclear whether the Government systems
will continue to function correctly.
Dated: February 24, 2011.
Millisa Gary,
Acting Director, Office of Governmentwide Acquisition Policy.
[FR Doc. 2011-4662 Filed 3-1-11; 8:45 am]
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