AWS KMS adds ML-KEM post-quantum key encapsulation

AWS Key Management Service now supports ML-KEM, the Module-Lattice-Based Key-Encapsulation Mechanism standardized by NIST as FIPS 203, which lets two parties establish a shared secret. NIST designed ML-KEM to replace classical key-establishment methods like Diffie-Hellman and RSA-based key transport as part of its post-quantum cryptography roadmap, addressing the risk that an adversary could record today's key exchanges and decrypt them later once powerful quantum computers exist.

KMS supports all three ML-KEM key sizes defined in FIPS 203: ML-KEM-512, ML-KEM-768, and ML-KEM-1024. Its Encapsulate API uses a public key to generate a 32-byte shared secret along with its ciphertext form, and the Decapsulate API recovers that shared secret from the ciphertext using the matching private key. Private keys are protected in FIPS 140-3 Level 3 validated hardware security modules. The GetPublicKey API lets customers export the public key to share with partners or external systems, which can then run the encapsulation step locally using libraries such as AWS-LC, OpenSSL, or Bouncy Castle.

The feature is available in all AWS regions where KMS operates, except the Middle East (UAE), Middle East (Bahrain), and China regions.

Why it matters

Post-quantum key encapsulation in a major cloud KMS gives developers a straightforward way to start protecting data against future quantum decryption.

Source: AWS