The Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) is a joint American and Canadian security accreditation program for cryptographic modules. The program is available to any vendors who seek to have their products certified for use by the U.S. Government and regulated industries (such as financial and health-care institutions) that collect, store, transfer, share and disseminate "sensitive, but not classified" information. All of the tests under the CMVP are handled by third-party laboratories that are accredited as Cryptographic Module Testing Laboratories by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program

National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program

National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program is a National Institute of Standards and Technology program which provides an unbiased third-party test and evaluation program to accredit laboratories in their respective fields to the ISO 17025 standard...

 (NVLAP). Product certifications under the CMVP are performed in accordance with the requirements of FIPS 140-2

FIPS 140-2

The Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 140-2, , is a U.S. government computer security standard used to accredit cryptographic modules. The title is Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules...

.

The CMVP was established by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology

National Institute of Standards and Technology

The National Institute of Standards and Technology , known between 1901 and 1988 as the National Bureau of Standards , is a measurement standards laboratory, otherwise known as a National Metrological Institute , which is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce...

 (NIST) and the Communications Security Establishment

Communications Security Establishment

The Communications Security Establishment Canada is the Canadian government's national cryptologic agency. Administered under the Department of National Defence , it is charged with the duty of keeping track of foreign signals intelligence , and protecting Canadian government electronic...

 (CSE) of the Government of Canada

Politics of Canada

The politics of Canada function within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is head of state...

in July 1995.

External links

• NIST Cryptographic Module Validation Program
• NIST FIPS 140-2
• FAQ of a validated implementation: OpenSSL