crypto-lab-frodo-vault

What It Is

FrodoKEM is a post-quantum Key Encapsulation Mechanism (KEM) built on the plain Learning With Errors (LWE) problem — no ring or module structure. Unlike ML-KEM (FIPS 203), which gains speed from structured polynomial arithmetic, FrodoKEM relies only on the most conservative lattice hardness assumption: unstructured LWE, introduced by Regev (2005). This demo provides an interactive browser-based simulation of FrodoKEM's key generation, encapsulation, and decapsulation flows with spec-accurate parameter sizes for all three security levels (640, 976, 1344). It is an educational tool, not a production cryptographic implementation.

When to Use It

• Long-term archive secrecy with maximum conservatism — FrodoKEM avoids algebraic structure that could be vulnerable to future attacks, making it suitable when the threat horizon exceeds 20 years.
• Hybrid KEM deployments — Combine FrodoKEM with ML-KEM so that security holds if either assumption survives. The demo includes a hybrid KEM walkthrough.
• Understanding LWE fundamentals — The toy LWE exhibit (n=3, q=97) lets you explore modular arithmetic, noise injection, and Gaussian elimination interactively.
• Comparing post-quantum KEM trade-offs — Side-by-side size, speed, and security comparisons between FrodoKEM and ML-KEM with real specification data.
• Do not use when bandwidth or key size is constrained — FrodoKEM-976 public keys are ~15 KB versus ~1.2 KB for ML-KEM-768. For TLS or constrained devices, ML-KEM is the standard choice.

Live Demo

https://systemslibrarian.github.io/crypto-lab-frodo-vault/

Seven interactive exhibits: toy LWE problem with adjustable noise and animated matrix multiplication, simulated key generation with a parameter size calculator, encapsulation/decapsulation with tamper detection, FrodoKEM vs ML-KEM comparison with hybrid KEM derivation, error distribution sampling with failure probability visualization, post-quantum KEM landscape overview, and a sourced analysis of the global structured-vs-structureless lattice standards divide.

How to Run Locally

git clone https://github.com/systemslibrarian/crypto-lab-frodo-vault
cd crypto-lab-frodo-vault
npm install
npm run dev

Part of the Crypto-Lab Suite

One of 60+ live browser demos at systemslibrarian.github.io/crypto-lab — spanning Atbash (600 BCE) through NIST FIPS 203/204/205 (2024).

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