NIST published its first three final post-quantum cryptography standards, including two developed by IBM Research scientists in Zurich with external collaborators. ML-KEM, derived from CRYSTALS-Kyber, provides a mechanism for establishing shared secrets. ML-DSA, derived from CRYSTALS-Dilithium, provides digital signatures. Their standardisation turned years of cryptographic research and public evaluation into specifications ready for deployment.
The standards address the risk that future quantum computers could break widely used public-key cryptography. They run on conventional computers and give software developers concrete specifications for migrating communication and authentication systems. NIST's third standard, SLH-DSA, is based on hash-based signatures and was co-developed by a researcher who subsequently joined IBM. The publication provides a common foundation for replacing vulnerable cryptographic components across enterprise and public infrastructure.
