The latest update to NIAP Policy Letter #12 (Update 5) brings a significant change that vendors should be aware of: the inclusion of core functionality as a critical requirement for products undergoing evaluation under NIAP. This new addition places an important responsibility on vendors to ensure that their products’ core functionality is explicitly included in the scope of evaluation. Let’s dive into why this change is so crucial for vendors and how they can prepare.
Read More
[Update Sept 2024: These Standards have been published.]
In our last article on Post Quantum Crypto (PQC) titled “Introduction to the Quantum Computing Impact on Cryptography”, we introduced quantum computing concepts and the potential impact on computer security and cryptography. The article also introduced CNSA 1.0 and CNSA 2.0 as initial suites of PQC algorithms developed by the National Security Agency (NSA). The thrust of PQC development has focused on the replacement of public key cryptography given quantum computing’s ability to conduct complex calculations quickly and potentially decrypt data encrypted with legacy algorithms in hours or days, versus the years it would have normally taken.
Read More
NIAP recently released Labgram #118 – Entropy Source Validation Certificates. It mandates that ESV certificates must be included as part of the Entropy Assessment Report (EAR) for all products that enter evaluation with NIAP from January 1st, 2025. Effective immediately, vendors may submit EARs that refer to an ESV certificate. This blog post discusses what ESV is, how it relates to Common Criteria under NIAP and the impact of this policy on vendors undertaking evaluations outside of NIAP (e.g. Canada etc.) but seeking NIAP PCL entry.
Read More
In this post we examine the proposed European Cybersecurity Certification Scheme (EUCC). We’ll cover:
NDcPP 3.0E has now been endorsed by NIAP. This post aims to answer the most common questions we get about NDcPP 3.0E:
Short answer: probably not much! For most vendors and users of the CC, things will roll on normally. It will be the national certification schemes, labs and technical communities that must adjust.
Long answer: there are some aspects and circumstances arising from the transition to CC:2022 that you may want to pay attention to. These are:
We’ll dig into each of these aspects below.
Read More
CMVP algorithm transitions can be a great source of anxiety for vendors who seek to attain or maintain compliance to the FIPS 140-2 and 140-3 standards. A great deal of diligence, patience and persistence are required to continually review and assess product requirements against planned transitions.
Read More
Vendors are increasingly looking to leverage OpenSSL 3.x as their cryptographic module of choice within their products. At the same time, entropy continues to a be a focus in both FIPS 140-3 and Common Criteria projects. For those transitioning from OpenSSL 1.0.2 and the FIPS Object Module 2.0.x, the ways in which entropy can seed the DRBG in OpenSSL 3.0 differs.
Read More
Quantum computing continues to be a hot topic. Within the certification industry, it was most recently covered at the International Common Criteria Conference (ICCC) recently held in Spain. So, what is quantum computing and more importantly, what is the potential impact on computer security and cryptography? The purpose of this post is to provide a brief introduction to post-quantum cryptography – including what changes are planned to algorithm standards to proactively defend against potential security issues and when will cryptography updates come into effect? In addition, what organizations are involved in assessing requirements, proposing updates and then enforcing post-quantum solutions?
Read More
Lightship has released, as open source, an ACVP vector test harness for OpenSSL 3.x.
The code can be found in our GitHub repository at https://github.com/lightshipsec/ls-acvp-harness.
The README.md contains the current capabilities which we expect to update and maintain. At the moment, we include most of the typical algorithms and properties that are often claimed or required in FIPS 140-3 and Common Criteria. The full set of supported algorithms, operating modes and properties are described in the README.md. Additional algorithms can be added as needed.
Read More