September 17, 2024 at 08:45AM
Google is switching from KYBER to ML-KEM in Chrome to counter cryptographically relevant quantum computers (CRQCs). ML-KEM will be implemented in Chrome version 131 in November 2024, addressing incompatibility issues with KYBER. The move follows NIST’s release of new encryption algorithms for future quantum threats. Microsoft is also gearing up for a post-quantum era, adding support for ML-KEM and XMSS in its SymCrypt cryptographic library.
Key takeaways from the meeting notes:
1. Google is switching from KYBER to ML-KEM in its Chrome web browser as part of its efforts to defend against the risk of cryptographically relevant quantum computers.
2. Chrome will offer a key share prediction for hybrid ML-KEM in Chrome version 131, expected to be released in early November 2024.
3. The changes to ML-KEM make it incompatible with the previously deployed version of Kyber, prompting Google to abandon KYBER.
4. This development follows the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) publishing the final versions of encryption algorithms to secure systems against future attacks using quantum technologies.
5. ML-KEM is derived from the round-three version of the CRYSTALS-KYBER KEM and is meant for establishing a shared secret key between two parties communicating over a public channel.
6. Microsoft is also updating its SymCrypt cryptographic library with support for ML-KEM and eXtended Merkle Signature Scheme (XMSS) to prepare for a post-quantum world.
7. A cryptographic flaw was discovered in Infineon SLE78, Optiga Trust M, and Optiga TPM security microcontrollers that could allow for the extraction of ECDSA private keys from YubiKey hardware authentication devices.
8. Yubico, the company behind YubiKey, issued a coordinated advisory regarding the cryptographic flaw and announced plans to deprecate support for Infineon’s cryptographic library in favor of its own cryptographic library as part of firmware versions.
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