ML-DSA-65
RSA signing / verification → ML-DSA-65 (FIPS 204)
Lattice-based digital signatures (from CRYSTALS-Dilithium). Native node:crypto, algorithm null with an explicit context.
BACKGROUND
Why post-quantum, and where the fixes come from.
A skim-length explainer: the quantum threat to today's cryptography, the algorithm behind it, the NIST standards that replace it, and the exact swaps Quantum Twin performs.
01
THE THREAT
Shor's algorithm breaks public-key crypto.
Today's signatures and key exchange (RSA, ECDSA, ECDH) rest on two hard math problems: factoring large integers and computing discrete logarithms. A large fault-tolerant quantum computer running Shor's algorithm solves both efficiently — so it can forge signatures and recover keys that classical computers cannot.
- Public-key: brokenRSA, ECDSA, ECDH, DH fall to Shor's algorithm. This is the urgent problem.
- Hashes & symmetric: weakenedGrover's algorithm only gives a quadratic speedup — mitigated by larger keys/digests (AES-256, SHA-384). Not broken.
- Harvest now, decrypt laterSigned or encrypted data captured today can be forged or read once Q-Day arrives, so migration must start before it.
02
THE STANDARDS
NIST standardized the replacements in 2024.
After a multi-year public competition, NIST finalized the first post-quantum standards in August 2024. Quantum Twin migrates to these — not to home-grown schemes.
- FIPS 203 — ML-KEMKey encapsulation (from CRYSTALS-Kyber). Replaces RSA encryption and ECDH key agreement.
- FIPS 204 — ML-DSADigital signatures (from CRYSTALS-Dilithium). Replaces RSA and ECDSA signatures.
- FIPS 205 — SLH-DSAHash-based signatures (from SPHINCS+), a conservative stateless backup.
03
THE FIXES
Exactly what Quantum Twin swaps.
ML-DSA-65
ECDSA signing / verification → ML-DSA-65 (FIPS 204)
Same signature replacement for elliptic-curve signatures.
ML-KEM-768 KEM-DEM
RSA encryption / ECDH key agreement → ML-KEM-768 KEM-DEM (FIPS 203)
Lattice key encapsulation (from CRYSTALS-Kyber) wrapped with HKDF-SHA256 and AES-256-GCM.
Every swap uses native node:crypto. Deterministic gates verify signing, verification, tamper rejection, wrong-key rejection, and domain separation before any candidate can win — so a migration is only accepted when it actually holds.
NIST SOURCES
NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography project — the standardization effort and timeline.
THE STANDARDS
FIPS 203 (ML-KEM), FIPS 204 (ML-DSA), and FIPS 205 (SLH-DSA).
MIGRATION GUIDANCE
NCCoE migration to PQC treats discovery and interoperability testing as separate workstreams — the gap Quantum Twin fills.