[Federal Register: July 15, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 135)]
[Notices]
[Page 40984-40985]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15jy05-45]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and Technology
[Docket No. 050329087-5087-01]
Proposed Withdrawal of Ten (10) Federal Information Processing
Standards (FIPS)
AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
proposes to withdraw ten (10) Federal Information Processing Standards
(FIPS) from the FIPS series. The standards proposed for withdrawal
include FIPS 161-2, FIPS 183, FIPS 184, FIPS 192 and 192-1, which adopt
voluntary industry standards for Federal government use. These FIPS are
obsolete because they have not been updated to reference current or
revised voluntary industry standards. In addition, FIPS 4-2, FIPS 5-2,
FIPS 6-4, and FIPS 10-4, adopt specifications or data standards that
are developed and maintained by other Federal government agencies or by
voluntary industry standards organizations. These FIPS have not been
updated to reflect
[[Page 40985]]
the changes and modifications that have been made by the organizations
that develop and maintain the specifications and data representations.
FIPS 113, Computer Data Authentication, specifies an algorithm for
generating and verifying a Message Authentication Code (MAC). Since the
algorithm is based on the Data Encryption Standard, which has been
recommended for withdrawal, NIST plans to recommend the use of newer
techniques for data authentication based on more secure algorithms.
Prior to the submission of this proposed withdrawal of FIPS to the
Secretary of Commerce for review and approval, NIST invites comments
from the public, users, the information technology industry, and
Federal, State and local governments government organizations
concerning the withdrawal of the FIPS.
DATES: Comments on the proposed withdrawal of the FIPS must be received
no later than 5 p.m. on October 13, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning the withdrawal of the FIPS
should be sent to: Information Technology Laboratory, ATTN: Proposed
Withdrawal of 10 FIPS, Mail Stop 8930, National Institute of Standards
and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. Electronic
comments should be sent to: fips.comments@nist.gov.
Information about the FIPS is available on the NIST Web pages:
http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/index.htm.
Comments received in response to this notice will be published
electronically at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/fips/index.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Shirley M. Radack, telephone (301)
975-2833, MS 8930, National Institute of Standards and Technology,
Gaithersburg, MD 20899 or via e-mail at shirley.radack@nist.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following Federal Information Processing
Standards (FIPS) Publications are proposed for withdrawal from the FIPS
series:
FIPS 4-2, Representation of Calendar Date to Facilitate Interchange
of Data Among Information Systems.
FIPS 5-2, Codes for the Identification of the States, the District
of Columbia and the Outlying Areas of the United States, and Associated
Areas.
FIPS 6-4, Counties and Equivalent Entities of the U.S., Its
Possessions, and Associated Areas.
FIPS 10-4, Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty,
and Their Principal Administrative Divisions.
FIPS 113, Computer Data Authentication.
FIPS 161-2, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).
FIPS 183, Integration Definition for Function Modeling (IDEF0).
FIPS 184, Integration Definition for Information Modeling (IDEFIX).
FIPS 192, Application Profile for the Government Information
Locator Service (GILS).
FIPS 192-1 (a)&(b), Application Profile for the Government
Information Locator Service (GILS).
These FIPS are being proposed for withdrawal because they are
obsolete, or have not been updated to adopt current voluntary industry
standards, federal specifications, or federal data standards. Federal
agencies are responsible for using current voluntary industry standards
and current federal specifications and data standards in their
acquisition and management activities.
The Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 (Division
E of Pub. L. 104-106) and Executive Order 13011 emphasize agency
management of information technology and Government-wide interagency
support activities to improve productivity, security, interoperability,
and coordination of Government resources. Under the National Technology
Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-113) Federal agencies
and departments are directed to use technical standards that are
developed in voluntary consensus standards bodies. Voluntary industry
standards are the preferred source of standards to be used by the
Federal government. The use of voluntary industry standards eliminates
the cost to the government of developing its own standards, and
furthers the policy of reliance upon the private sector to supply goods
and services to the government. Federal Information Processing
Standards (FIPS) are developed only when interoperability of different
systems, for the portability of data and software, and for computer
security.
FIPS 161-2, FIPS 183, and FIPS 184 are voluntary consensus
standards, and current versions of these specifications are available
from voluntary standards organizations.
FIPS 192 and 192-1 are being withdrawn because agencies use
commercial sources to aid citizens in locating government information.
Per Section 207(d) of the E-Government Act of 2002, OMB will issue
policies requiring agencies use standards, which are open to the
maximum extent feasible and interoperable across agencies, to enable
effective categorization and organization of Government information in
a way that is searchable electronically, including by searchable
identifiers.
The policy will define categories of Government information which
shall be required under the standards so agencies can continue to use
aids, including Federal or nonfederal sources, for locating agency
information dissemination products to reasonably achieve agency
information dissemination objectives.
FIPS 4-2, FIPS 5-2, FIPS 6-4, and FIPS 10-4 are Federal data
standards and specifications that have been and will continue to be
developed and maintained by Federal government agencies other than
NIST. Current versions of these data standards and specifications are
available through the developing Federal agencies' web pages. NIST will
keep references to these withdrawn FIPS on its FIPS web pages, and will
link to current versions of these standards and specifications where
appropriate.
Withdrawal means that these FIPS would no longer be part of a
subscription service that is provided by the National Technical
Information Service. NIST will continue to provide relevant information
on standards and guidelines by means of electronic dissemination
methods.
Authority: Federal Information Processing Standards Publications
(FIPS PUBS) are issued by the National Institute of Standards and
Technology after approval by the Secretary of Commerce, pursuant to
Section 5131 of the Information Technology Management Reform Act of
1996 (Pub. L. 104-106), and the Federal Information Security
Management Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-347).
Classification: Executive Order 12866: This notice has been
determined not to be significant for the purposes of Executive Order
12866.
Dated: July 11, 2005.
Hratch G. Semerjian,
Acting Director, NIST.
[FR Doc. 05-13992 Filed 7-14-05; 8:45 am]