Technical dictionary
Key Encapsulation Mechanism (KEM)
Public-key primitive that securely transports a symmetric key (used heavily in PQC TLS).
Definition
A KEM encapsulates a random secret to a public key so only the holder of the private key can decapsulate it. ML-KEM is the primary PQC KEM in NIST’s first wave.
KEMs replace many uses of classical key transport / ECDH in protocol designs.