Liaison statement
Liaison on Support for Publication of draft-ietf-tls-mlkem and draft-ietf-tls-mldsa
Additional information about IETF liaison relationships is available on the
IETF webpage
and the
Internet Architecture Board liaison webpage.
| State | Posted |
|---|---|
| Submitted Date | 2026-06-17 |
| From Group | O-RAN-WG11 |
| From Contact | cm8655@att.com |
| To Group | SEC |
| To Contacts | Deb Cooley <debcooley1@gmail.com> Christopher Inacio <stndrds-inacio@andrew.cmu.edu> |
| Cc | Deb Cooley <debcooley1@gmail.com> Christopher Inacio <stndrds-inacio@andrew.cmu.edu> The IETF Chair <chair@ietf.org> holger.zwingmann@accenture.com |
| Response Contact | liaisons@o-ran.org |
| Purpose | For information |
| Attachments | S-2026002 Liaison from O-RAN WG11 to IETF r.e. Support for Publication of draft-ietf-tls-mlkem and draft-ietf-tls-mldsa |
| Body |
1. Overall Description: O-RAN Security Work Group (WG11) is responsible for the security of the O-RAN architecture. WG11 is proactively preparing for the realization of cryptographically relevant quantum computers (CRQCs) by studying post-quantum cryptography (PQC) as it applies to O-RAN architectural elements [1]. Many IETF security protocols, e.g. TLS, HTTPs, are used in O-RAN, and WG11 is tracking IETF’s support for PQC algorithms into these security protocols. To help achieve a post-quantum secure O-RAN architecture, WG11 aims to include ML-KEM [2] and ML-DSA [3] among the quantum-safe crypto suite options within the O-RAN Technical Specifications. WG11 is aware of the ongoing debates regarding the necessity to publish these Internet-Drafts [4][5]. WG11 would like to express their support for publication of draft-ietf-tls-mlkem and draft-ietf-tls-mldsa. WG11 prefers to reference RFCs. O-RAN specifications require well maintained stable references that internet-drafts do not provide. 2. Actions: WG11 requests that the IETF working groups consider O-RAN's perspective during their deliberations. 3. References: [1] https://specifications.o-ran.org/download?id=1071 [2] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-tls-mlkem/ [3] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-tls-mldsa/ [4] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-barnes-tls-this-could-have-been-an-email/ [5] https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/tls/?q=draft-ietf-tls-mldsa 4. Meeting Schedule: O-RAN WG11 have regular bi-weekly virtual meetings where all contributions are considered. The next O-RAN ALLIANCE face-to-face meeting is Oct. 19-23, 2026 in Vietnam. |