|
Home > Products > Electronic & Electrochemical Materials > Specialty Electronic Products > FIPS 140-2 Standard
What is the FIPS 140-2 Standard?
NIST (National Bureau of Standards & Technology) has established a detailed set of requirements for the security of cryptographic hardware. This standard, FIPS 140-2, is a Federal Information Processing Standard. Any government agency purchasing hardware or software that uses cryptographic security is required to buy only those products that have been certified to this FIPS standard.
FIPS-certified products are not only for government use. Because FIPS 140-2 is a detailed standard recognized globally, many commercial end-users call for FIPS-certified products. Financial institutions, for example, employ encryption accelerator cards in their servers for secure transactions and many require the highest level of proven security.
The table below summarizes the four levels of security and certification defined by the FIPS 140-2 standard. More information can be found on the NIST web site.
FIPS 140-2 Guidelines for Physical Security of Hardware
| |
Security Level 1 |
Security Level 2 |
Security Level 3 |
Security Level 4 |
| PHYSICAL SECURITY |
Production grade equipment
|
Locks or tamper evidence
|
Tamper detection & response for covers & doors
|
Tamper detection and response envelope
|
FIPS 140-2, Level 4 - The most secure active perimeter protection
GORE™ Tamper Respondent Technology was developed to provide high security solutions and our customers' modules have met the requirements of FIPS 140-2, Level 4.
- Tamper respondent envelope required
- Detects penetration and "zeroizes" critical data
- Opaque outer coating which causes damage & detection if removed (chemically or mechanically)
|
|
