Insider Brief
- SEALSQ presented peer-reviewed research at LightSec 2026 on a side-channel attack targeting the encoding step of ML-KEM key generation, along with countermeasures to reduce implementation vulnerabilities.
- The research combines profiling-based techniques with lattice reduction to recover sensitive information from side-channel leakage under realistic conditions.
- The work examines implementation risks in NIST-standardized post-quantum cryptography and complements SEALSQ’s hardware security development, including its QS7001 secure element, which is undergoing Common Criteria EAL5+ certification.
PRESS RELEASE — SEALSQ Corp (NASDAQ: LAES) (“SEALSQ” or “Company”), a company that focuses on developing and selling Semiconductors, PKI, and Post-Quantum technology hardware and software products, today announced that its research team presented a peer-reviewed technical article on a novel side-channel attack targeting the encoding step of ML-KEM (Module-Lattice-Based Key Encapsulation Mechanism, formerly CRYSTALS-Kyber) key generation at LightSec 2026.
LightSec 2026, the 7th International Workshop on Lightweight Cryptography for Security & Privacy, took place on October 11, 2026, in Antalya, Turkey, as an official affiliated event of CHES 2026 (Conference on Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems), the premier venue for research on the design and analysis of cryptographic hardware and embedded systems. The broader CHES program runs from October 11–15, 2026.
The paper, titled “Cross-information lattice attack on ML-KEM,” demonstrates how the encoding step during ML-KEM key generation is vulnerable to side-channel attacks under realistic conditions. The work introduces a novel attack method that combines profiling-based techniques with lattice reduction. This hybrid approach enables efficient exploitation of side-channel leakage, recovering sensitive information more effectively than prior methods alone. The researchers also present practical countermeasures designed to improve the robustness of ML-KEM implementations against such attacks.
This contribution highlights SEALSQ’s position at the vanguard of cryptographic hardware technology. By rigorously analyzing and hardening implementations of NIST-standardized algorithms such as ML-KEM (FIPS 203), the company helps advance the state of the art in secure architectures that must withstand both mathematical cryptanalysis and physical implementation attacks. Side-channel vulnerabilities, arising from power consumption, electromagnetic emissions, or timing, remain a critical practical concern even for mathematically secure lattice-based schemes, particularly in resource-constrained or long-lived devices.
The research directly complements SEALSQ’s product portfolio. The company’s Quantum Shield QS7001 is the industry’s first commercially available secure element embedding NIST-standardized post-quantum algorithms, ML-KEM for key establishment and ML-DSA (formerly CRYSTALS-Dilithium) for signatures, directly in hardware on a secured RISC-V architecture. Hardware-level acceleration and dedicated countermeasures against SPA/DPA and related attacks, combined with features such as active shielding and scrambling, address the very class of implementation risks examined in the LightSec paper. The QS7001 is currently undergoing Common Criteria EAL5+ Certification process.
This scientific work reinforces SEALSQ’s ongoing efforts to deliver production-ready post-quantum hardware. As the company advances commercialization of the QS7001 and QVault Trusted Platform Module lines, deep expertise in implementation security helps strengthen the credibility of its solutions for governments, critical infrastructure, and long-lifecycle devices preparing for the post-quantum transition.
“Presenting peer-reviewed work on ML-KEM implementation security at a CHES-affiliated workshop underscores our dual role as both product innovators and contributors to the global cryptographic research community,” said Carlos Moreira, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of SEALSQ. “Our expertise in side-channel analysis and countermeasures, combined with the QS7001’s hardware-embedded post-quantum cryptography, strengthens our ability to deliver trusted security solutions. These capabilities position SEALSQ to address customers’ evolving security requirements and pursue growth opportunities as the market transitions to post-quantum technologies.”
SEALSQ’s research and engineering teams continue to strengthen the company’s intellectual property portfolio (including prior work on side-channel protection for polynomial-based algorithms at the encoding stage) and to support sovereign, crypto-agile architectures capable of adapting as standards and threats evolve.