Dilithium Post-Quantum Cryptography

Sahyadri uses CRYSTALS-Dilithium for all transaction signatures, making it the first DAG-based blockchain with native post-quantum protection.

Dilithium is a NIST-standardized lattice-based digital signature scheme selected in 2022 as the primary post-quantum signature algorithm. Unlike RSA and ECDSA, Dilithium resists attacks from both classical and quantum computers, ensuring long-term cryptographic security for all on-chain transactions.

The security of Dilithium is based on the hardness of the Module Learning With Errors (Module-LWE) problem, which is believed to be hard even for quantum computers. This makes Sahyadri one of the first blockchain networks to be truly quantum-resistant.

Technical Specifications

Parameter	Value	Description
`Algorithm`	CRYSTALS-Dilithium	NIST PQC Standard (FIPS 204)
`Mode`	Dilithium-3	NIST Level 3 - balanced security & performance
`Public Key Size`	~1,952 bytes	Lattice-based public key
`Signature Size`	~3,293 bytes	Compact for PQC standards
`Secret Key Size`	~4,000 bytes	Lattice-based secret key
`Security Level`	NIST Level 3	128-bit quantum security
`Lattice Dimension`	n = 1024	Module rank k = 8
`Signing Speed`	~7 ms	Optimized via dilithium-rs crate
`Verification Speed`	~2 ms	Fast verification for block validation
`Implementation`	dilithium-rs + WASM	Rust crate compiled to WebAssembly
`NIST Standard`	FIPS 204	Selected August 2024
`Security Basis`	Module-LWE	Learning With Errors problem
`Key Generation`	~10 ms	Fast keypair generation
`Quantum Resistance`	128-bit	Against quantum computer attacks
`Classical Security`	~143-bit	Against classical computer attacks

Why Dilithium?

Quantum Safe

Resists Shor's algorithm - can't be broken by quantum computers

NIST Approved

Official FIPS 204 standard - globally recognized

Compact Size

Smaller than RSA at equivalent security level

Fast Verification

~2ms verification - ideal for blockchain

WASM Support

Runs in browser - wallet signing possible

Provably Secure

Based on hard mathematical problems

Key Generation Example (Rust)

// Rust (dilithium-rs crate)
use dilithium::*;

// Generate keypair
let (pk, sk) = KeyGen::generate();

// Sign a message
let msg = b"Sahyadri transaction";
let sig = Sign::sign(&sk, msg);

// Verify signature
let valid = Verify::verify(&pk, msg, &sig);
assert!(valid);

Browser WASM Example

// JavaScript (WASM)
import { Dilithium } from '@sahyadri/wasm';

// Generate keypair in browser
const { publicKey, secretKey } = Dilithium.generateKeypair();

// Sign transaction
const signature = Dilithium.sign(secretKey, transactionHash);

// Verify signature
const valid = Dilithium.verify(publicKey, transactionHash, signature);
console.log(valid); // true

Security Comparison

Algorithm	Quantum Safe	NIST Standard	Signature Size
Dilithium-3 (Sahyadri)	Yes	FIPS 204	~3.3 KB
ECDSA (Bitcoin)	No	None	~64 bytes
Ed25519 (Solana)	No	None	~64 bytes
RSA-2048	No	None	~256 bytes