Seagate Enterprise Performance 10K HDD v9 Product Manual, Rev. D (Draft 2)
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About FIPS
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Publication 140-2 is a U.S. Government Computer Security Standard used to
accredit cryptographic modules. It is titled 'Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules (FIPS PUB 140-2)' and is issued by the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Purpose
This standard specifies the security requirements that will be satisfied by a cryptographic module utilized within a security system
protecting sensitive but unclassified information. The standard provides four increasing, qualitative levels of security: Level 1, Level 2,
Level 3 and Level 4. These levels are intended to cover the wide range of potential applications and environments in which
cryptographic modules may be employed.
Validation Program
Products that claim conformance to this standard are validated by the Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) which is a
joint effort between National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) of
the Government of Canada. Products validated as conforming to FIPS 140-2 are accepted by the Federal agencies of both countries
for the protection of sensitive information (United States) or Designated Information (Canada).
In the CMVP, vendors of cryptographic modules use independent, accredited testing laboratories to have their modules tested.
National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) accredited laboratories perform cryptographic module compliance/
conformance testing.
Seagate Enterprise SED
http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/documents/140-1/1401vend.htm
, and search for
“Seagate”.
Security Level 2
Security Level 2 enhances the physical security mechanisms of a Security Level 1 cryptographic module by adding the require-
ment for tamper-evidence, which includes the use of tamper-evident coatings or seals on removable covers of the module. Tam-
per-evident coatings or seals are placed on a cryptographic module so that the coating or seal must be broken to attain physical
access to the critical security parameters (CSP) within the module. Tamper-evident seals (example shown in Figure 11, page 40) are
placed on covers to protect against unauthorized physical access. In addition Security Level 2 requires, at a minimum, role-based
authentication in which a cryptographic module authenticates the authorization of an operator to assume a specific role and per-
form a corresponding set of services.
Figure 11. Example of FIPS tamper evidence labels.
Note
Image is for reference only, may not represent actual drive.
