NIST Lightweight Cryptography (LWC) standardization process was initiated in August 2018 to solicit, evaluate, and standardize lightweight cryptographic algorithms that are suitable for use in constrained environments. The  algorithm shall implement authenticated encryption with associated data (AEAD) functionality and optionally the hashing functionality.

In March 2021, NIST announced ten finalists and is currently in the final round of the standardization process, with one of the main focuses being the side-channel evaluation of the finalists. Besides performance evaluation of the finalists with side-channel protections/countermeasures implemented, side-channel analysis (SCA) of the finalists is also a consideration factor for the standardization process.