Dimension 6 of 10 · methodology v1.0

Compliance & certification

What has actually been validated by an external body, as opposed to asserted?

Dimension
6 of 10
Requirements
7
Conformance gate
No
Applies to
All categories
References
3
Methodology
v1.0
In full

Requirements, evidence source, and references

This page is the citable form of this dimension — a finding elsewhere can link straight to the bar it was judged against.

06

Compliance & certification

7 requirements

What has actually been validated by an external body, as opposed to asserted?

Requirements · 7
  • FIPS 140-3 validation status, checked against the public CMVP Validated Modules list.

    HSMLibrary / SDKPKI / CA
  • Whether a module is validated, in process, or neither — three different states, reported as such and never collapsed into “FIPS compliant”.

  • The certificate's scope is read, not just its existence: what was validated is frequently narrower than what is marketed.

    • Which module, which version, and which operational environment the certificate actually covers.

    • Whether the PQC algorithms specifically are in scope, or only the classical ones.

  • Common Criteria evaluation status, with protection profile and assurance level, where applicable.

    HSMPKI / CA
  • Browser and OS root-program inclusion, and standing in good order with the relevant program requirements.

    PKI / CA
  • Sector-specific certifications relevant to the vendor's stated market.

  • Where CNSA 2.0 alignment is claimed, the claim matches the suite's actual algorithm and timeline requirements.

Evidence sourcePublic certification registries.
References
Scoping applies on this dimensionSome requirements here apply only to certain kinds of vendor. A requirement that is out of scope for a vendor is not assessed for that vendor — it is never scored as a failure, and never counted in the denominator.
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