The thing that sets this effort apart from DES and Clipper is that USG actually has skin in the game. Neither DES or Clipper were ever intended or approved to protect classified information.

These are algorithms that NSA will use in real systems to protect information up to the TOP SECRET codeword level through programs such as CNSA 2.0[1] and CsFC.

[1] https://media.defense.gov/2025/May/30/2003728741/-1/-1/0/CSA...

[2] https://www.nsa.gov/Resources/Commercial-Solutions-for-Class...