Nist's Cryptographic Module Validation Program Adds First Pda Device - National Instititue of Standards and Technology - Brief Article

Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, May-June, 2001

The Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) achieved another milestone by validating the first Personal Digital Assistance (PDA) device (Certificate #137). This cryptographic kernel firmware securely compresses and encrypts messages with Triple DES (Data Encryption Standards). Following this procedure, the ciphertext is transmitted over the Internet to the user's mail server. Upon receiving the message, the mail server decrypts and decompresses the ciphertext back to the original plaintext. The crypto firmware is messaging-system independent.

The FIPS 140-1 Validated Modules List has become a "Who's Who" of cryptographic and information technology vendors and developers from the U.S., Canada, and abroad. The list contains a complete range of security levels and a broad spectrum of product types now including PDAs in addition to secure radios, Internet browsers, VPN devices, PC Postage equipment, cryptographic accelerators, secure tokens, and others. The recent validations impact federal agencies by further increasing the number of tested and validated cryptographic products available for use in securing sensitive information.

The CMVP is a joint effort between NIST and the Canadian Security Establishment, who serve as the validation authorities for the program. The Web site is http://csrc.nist.gov/cryptval.>

COPYRIGHT 2001 National Institute of Standards and Technology

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