Microsoft announced the integration of cryptoalgorithms resistant to quantum computer attacks in the open library symcrypt. This library provides basic cryptographic functions for Microsoft projects like Windows, Azure, Microsoft 365, Azure Stack HCI, and Azure Linux. Symcrypt is written in the language C and distributed under the MIT license. The Linux library Symcrypt can be used independently, as an engine for OpenSSL, and as bindings in the Rust language.
Symcrypt includes the ml-kem algorithm (Crystals-Kyber) for post-quantum encryption, facilitating key exchange between parties involved in data encryption and decryption. ML-KEM utilizes cryptographic methods based on lattice problems, where the solution time remains consistent across regular and quantum computers. The Symcrypt library has also added the XMSS (Extended Merkle Signature Scheme) for reusable digital signatures, as specified by NIST. XMSS utilizes a Merkle tree structure to enable the use of a single key pair for signing various data, such as firmware certification.
In the upcoming months, Symcrypt plans to implement algorithms for ml-dsa (Crystals-Dilithium) and slh-dsa (Sphincs+), along with the LMS (Leighton-Micali Signature Scheme) for digital signature creation.