Security for Government Data: Understanding FIPS and Compliance Standards
When storing sensitive data within the U.S. Government, every precaution must be taken to ensure security. The U.S. government has since set rigorous standards for all technology employed in cybersecurity solutions aimed at safeguarding government data.
Federal Information Processing Standards, or FIPS for short, are cybersecurity standards produced by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
What is FIPS 140 and What Does It Specify
What Is a Cryptographic Module?
What Is CAVP and CMVP?
Who Must Comply with FIPS?
Why FIPS 140 Matters to Both Public and Private Sectors?
Buffalo TeraStation FIPS Certification Chart
| Series | Model | Certification Status |
| TeraStation 7010 Series | TS71210RH | FIPS 140 CAVP Validated |
| TeraStation 5020 Series | TS5420DN | FIPS 140 CAVP Validated |
| TS5820DN | FIPS 140 CAVP Validated | |
| TS5420RN | FIPS 140 CAVP Validated | |
| TS51220RH | FIPS 140 CAVP Validated | |
| TeraStation WS IoT 2019 | WS5220DN | FIPS 140-2 validated. Please see this page for details. |
| WS5420DN | ||
| WS5420RN |
What Is FIPS 140 and What Does It Specify?
Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 140 (FIPS 140) serves as a crucial cryptography standard. FIPS establishes the baseline security criteria for cryptographic modules within information technology products, and is mandatory for non-military U.S. federal agencies and government service providers and contractors to comply with FIPS when working with federal government entities that process possibly-sensitive data. The FIPS 140 security standard is recognized not just in the U.S., but also holds significance in Canada and the European Union.
FIPS 140 guarantees the implementation of robust security measures within a product, ensuring the use of authorized and effective encryption algorithms and methodologies. The standard outlines the required authorization procedures for individuals or processes to access the product and mandates secure design standards for modules or components to interact safely with other systems. Typical operating system security measures, such as passwords, can be relatively simple to circumvent by physically removing a hard drive and accessing it from another computer. Encrypting the data stored on the hard drive remains a widely acknowledged and effective method to safeguard sensitive data.
What Is a Cryptographic Module?
A cryptographic module refers to a combination of hardware, firmware, or software designed to execute cryptographic operations, including but not limited to encryption, decryption, digital signatures, authentication, and random number generation.
What Is CAVP and CMVP?
The validation and testing of a cryptographic module involve two programs: the Cryptographic Algorithms Validation Program (CAVP) and the Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP). CAVP examines the cryptographic algorithms within the module, ensuring compliance with FIPS-approved algorithms. Once a device is CAVP validated, it can then undergo CMVP testing to assess the entire Cryptographic Module comprehensively. A system is only FIPS 140-2 certified once it passes CMVP.
Who Must Comply with FIPS?
The Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) mandates that various U.S. entities adhere to FIPS-compliant cryptographic modules. Canada has similarly embraced FIPS standards to validate cryptographic modules across multiple highly regulated industries.
The following groups are obligated to adhere to FIPS 140 standards:
- U.S. government agencies and U.S. government contractors
- Canadian federal agencies and Canadian government contractors
- Third parties collaborating with federal government agencies
- Cybersecurity organizations engaged in marketing or selling to regulated industries
Additionally, industries such as finance, healthcare, and other highly regulated sectors have also embraced FIPS standards due to the publication's advanced emphasis on securing and safeguarding sensitive data.
Why FIPS 140 Matters to Both Public and Private Sectors
FIPS 140 is relevant to a wide array of products handling sensitive data storage or transfer. This encompasses hardware like hard drives, flash drives, and other removable storage media. Additionally, it extends to software products that encrypt data either in transit or when stored.
The strong security provisions of FIPS 140 have positioned it as the preferred cryptography module standard for state and local government bodies, along with enterprises across industries like energy, transportation, manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services. Federal agencies mandate that all entities collaborating with them must adhere to FIPS 140 to ensure that third-party organizations handling government data will store and encrypt it up to necessary security standards.
For more information on FIPS and how Buffalo can help you with our secure, FIPS compliant network storage solutions, please contact us.
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