Multiple cryptographic transitions converge with aggressive deadlines and no integrated compliance platform.
Communications security has entered a period of simultaneous transformation across multiple dimensions. The Department of Defense is transitioning from legacy EKMSEKMS: Electronic Key Management System infrastructure to the modernized KMIKMI: Key Management Infrastructure. The National Security Agency has published aggressive timelines for post-quantum cryptography adoption under CNSA 2.0. Field programmable encryption devices are achieving certification. Coalition operations require coordination across allied nations with different cryptographic standards.
Each transition introduces compliance requirements that organizations must track independently while managing interdependencies between them.
A system that migrates from EKMS to KMI must also plan for CNSA 2.0 algorithm transitions. Coalition interoperability depends on cryptographic alignment across partner nations whose modernization timelines may differ. Field programmable devices create new audit requirements for over-the-air cryptographic updates.
No compliance platform currently addresses these converging requirements comprehensively. Organizations manage COMSEC compliance through disconnected processes that cannot surface conflicts or optimize transition sequencing.
The Key Management Infrastructure program represents the modernization path from legacy EKMS to contemporary key management capabilities. KMI CI-3 development began in July 2021 but has experienced schedule slips due to hardware technical refresh requirements, supply chain delays, and expanded functional requirements.
NSA re-baselined the program in September 2023, with Full Deployment Decision now targeted for fiscal year 2027. SOUTHCOM became the first major combatant command with KMI-aware over-the-network key capabilities in April 2025, demonstrating operational viability while highlighting that DoD-wide transition from legacy EKMS remains years away.
The Commercial National Security Algorithm Suite 2.0 establishes specific deadlines for post-quantum cryptography adoption. These are not aspirational targets but mandatory requirements for National Security Systems.
Post-quantum code signing required
New NSS systems must follow CNSA 2.0
KMI Full Deployment Decision target
NSA equipment transitions complete
Full quantum-resistant transition
The transition replaces RSA and elliptic curve cryptography with quantum-resistant alternatives. Organizations must inventory their cryptographic implementations, identify systems using algorithms that will be deprecated, and plan migrations that align with CNSA 2.0 deadlines.
Traditional COMSEC devices required depot maintenance for cryptographic updates, creating certification timelines measured in years. When cryptographic vulnerabilities emerged or algorithm updates became necessary, the logistics of physically collecting devices, updating them at secure facilities, and redistributing them created delays incompatible with threat evolution timelines.
RESCUERESCUE: Programmable COMSEC device achieving NSA High Assurance certification programmable COMSEC achieved NSA High Assurance certification in October 2024, enabling field programmable encryption that can be updated without depot maintenance.
NATO CWIX 2024, the largest digital interoperability exercise ever conducted with over 2,500 participants, highlighted ongoing challenges with different key management systems across member nations.
When coalition forces form for exercises or operations, cryptographic interoperability determines what information can be shared and through what channels. Different nations operate different key management architectures, use different cryptographic standards, and maintain different certification requirements.
A nation that modernizes its cryptographic systems without coordination may find itself unable to communicate with allies who have not yet completed equivalent transitions.
Link 16 crypto modernization across coalition partners requires coordination measured in years. Key material generation and distribution procedures vary by partner capability.
The challenge facing defense organizations is not any single cryptographic transition but the simultaneous management of multiple transitions with interdependencies. KMI migration must account for CNSA 2.0 requirements. Coalition interoperability planning must consider partner nation modernization timelines. Field programmable COMSEC deployment must align with both KMI transition and post-quantum migration schedules.
System migrated to KMI in 2025 with classical algorithms requires another migration for CNSA 2.0 by 2027
Coalition systems updated without partner coordination may lose communication capability
Field programmable devices deployed without post-quantum firmware will require avoidable updates
COMSEC compliance is not a checkpoint to be achieved but a continuous program that must adapt to evolving requirements, emerging threats, and advancing capabilities.
Account-level tracking from EKMS to KMI with FY27 timeline visibility and hybrid environment support
System inventory mapping against post-quantum requirements with deadline compliance tracking
Roadmaps for transitioning from RSA/ECC to ML-KEM, ML-DSA, and hash-based signatures
Over-the-air update tracking for RESCUE and similar programmable COMSEC architectures
Cross-national cryptographic configuration tracking and interoperability planning
Integrated transition management that optimizes sequencing across simultaneous modernization programs
Organizations that establish systematic approaches to cryptographic compliance management position themselves to address both current transitions and future requirements efficiently.
Assess your organization's cryptographic modernization posture against KMI transition timelines and CNSA 2.0 deadlines. See how Thalorin provides visibility into compliance status across all active transitions.