[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]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P