Module-lattice-based key-encapsulation mechanism standard
R. (Roberto) Avanzi, J. (Jeroen) van den Bos, L. (Léo) Ducas, E. (Eike) Kiltz, T. (Tancrède) Lepoint, V. (Vadim) Lyubashevsky, J.M. Schanck, P. (Peter) Schwabe, G. (Gregor) Seiler, D. (Damien) Stehlé · 2024
A key-encapsulation mechanism (KEM) is a set of algorithms that, under certain conditions, can be used by two parties to establish a shared secret key over a public channel. A shared secret key that is securely established using a KEM can then be used with symmetric-key cryptographic algorithms to perform basic tasks in secure communications, such as encryption and authentication. This standard specifies a key-encapsulation mechanism called ML-KEM. The security of ML-KEM is related to the computational difficulty of the Module Learning with Errors problem. At present,ML-KEM is believed to be secure, even against adversaries who possess a quantum computer. This standard specifies three parameter sets for ML-KEM. In order of increasing security strength and decreasing performance, these are ML-KEM-512, ML-KEM-768, and ML-KEM-1024.