A look at the latest post-quantum signature standardization candidates

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has advanced fourteen post-quantum signature schemes to the second round of their "signatures on ramp" competition, designed to resist quantum computer attacks. NIST already standardized four post-quantum signature schemes and is drafting a standard for a fifth. These new algorithms aim to reduce the number of bytes required on the wire compared to existing ones like ML-DSA and Falcon. The most promising candidates include HAWK, SNOVA, and MAYO, which are all improvements over current schemes in terms of performance and implementation. However, even with these improvements, drop-in post-quantum certificates will have a significant impact on at least half of TLS connections today.