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[TLS] Re: New Liaison Statement, "Liaison communication to IETF regarding draft-ietf-tls-mlkem"

Muhammad Usama Sardar <muhammad_usama.sardar@tu-dresden.de> Mon, 06 April 2026 18:30 UTC

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Date: Mon, 06 Apr 2026 20:30:16 +0200
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To: Russ Housley <housley@vigilsec.com>
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From: Muhammad Usama Sardar <muhammad_usama.sardar@tu-dresden.de>
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Subject: [TLS] Re: New Liaison Statement, "Liaison communication to IETF regarding draft-ietf-tls-mlkem"
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Hi Russ,

On 06.04.26 19:02, Russ Housley wrote:
>> Soliciting an LS to "do the trick" for showing consensus does not 
>> address the technical concerns of two dozen people who have opposed 
>> publication in the WGLC. Given that*there is no public evidence of 
>> IEEE 802.11bt having consensus on using pure ML-KEM in TLS protocol*, 
>> isn't it fair to ask for technical rationale?
>
> This response ignores a lot of context that has already been shared in 
> this thread.  I am responding so that people that have not been 
> following closely do not this your red text is correct.
>
> IEEE 802.11bt is an approved project to add PQC to 802.11 wireless 
> network standards, which already make use of EAP-TLS. The  Project 
> Authorization Request (PAR) explicitly mentions ML-DSA, ML-KEM and 
> SLH-DSA as examples of PQC algorithms.  The TLS WG has 
> adopted draft-ietf-tls-mldsa, draft-ietf-tls-mlkem, and other 
> algorithm-related I-Ds, which indicates to the rest of the world that 
> PQC algorithm documents are in the works.  On the IETF/IEEE 802 
> coordination call prior to IETF 125, the was a heads up that the WGLC 
> for draft-ietf-tls-mlkem was underway, but it might not achieve rough 
> consensus.  The IEEE 802.11 WG sent a LS to indicate their desire foe 
> the document.  Sending that LS required a formal vote, so your 
> statement is absolutely incorrect.
>
> You can find the approved Project Authorization Request (PAR) for 
> 802.11bt here: 
> https://mentor.ieee.org/802.11/dcn/25/11-25-0958-00-0PQC-draft-p802-11bt-par.pdf

Thanks for the pointer. In my reading, this PDF only establishes their 
transition to PQC, which could very much be hybrids. At best, it seems 
to just have a quick mention of FIPS 203 in "Additional Explanatory 
Notes" and that could be used in hybrid fashion in TLS, no? Am I missing 
something?

Regarding consensus: While the vote to send the LS confirms IEEE’s 
interest in the progress of the draft, does that vote specifically 
endorse an exclusive non-hybrid implementation in TLS? If there is a 
record (e.g., meeting recording, email thread) of technical rationale 
within 802.11 for preferring pure ML-KEM over hybrid, that would be very 
helpful for the WG to see, and maybe use in the draft for motivation.

Thanks.

Best regards,

-Usama

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