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Open-Source Cybersecurity Software Approved for Government Use (7/27/12)
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced the validation and availability of an open-source cybersecurity tool for securing information shared across the Internet. Government agencies required to use cryptographic software validated to Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) will now have access to Open Secure Socket Layer (OpenSSL v2.0) — a free, publicly available security software that meets federal security guidelines.
“OpenSSL is a widely used component in many software security applications,” said Luke Berndt, DHS program manager for the Homeland Open Security Technology (HOST) program. The HOST program is required to identify viable and sustainable open source solutions that support national cybersecurity objectives. “With this program available for government use, the nation’s critical online information will be safer while the government will find greater cost savings.”
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) validated the Open SSL using the FIPS 140-2 security standard for testing cryptographic modules. This validation is required for cryptography used to protect sensitive or valuable data within the federal government. DHS S&T and other government agency and private sector partners funded the validation process.
More information about the FIPS 140-2 validated OpenSSL module is available at http://openssl.org.
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