Automating FIPS 140-3 Compliance in CI/CD Pipelines
The build passed. The logs were clean. The code was ready. Now came the real test—FIPS 140-3 compliance, automated from start to finish.
FIPS 140-3 is the current U.S. and international standard for cryptographic module validation. It replaced FIPS 140-2 with tighter requirements, updated algorithms, and a sharper focus on security assurance. Meeting it means proving that your cryptographic systems behave exactly as the standard demands, under all conditions, without gaps. Manual testing is slow, expensive, and prone to mistakes. Automation changes the equation.
FIPS 140-3 test automation integrates compliance checks directly into CI/CD pipelines. Instead of isolated lab work, every build can run cryptographic algorithm validation, module configuration checks, and entropy source analysis. Automation scripts verify key generation routines, encryption and decryption sequences, and self-test behaviors on startup. They log results in machine-readable formats, ready for reports to NIST or accredited labs.
A solid implementation of FIPS 140-3 automated tests requires repeatable, deterministic runs. Each run must use known-answer tests (KATs) for symmetric ciphers, asymmetric keys, and hash functions. Conditional tests verify error states. Continuous randomness health tests ensure entropy sources meet statistical thresholds. The automation should fail the build instantly if a module deviates from the expected outputs or operational parameters.
Containerized environments are ideal for isolating FIPS 140-3 test suites. They allow reproducible test execution across platforms and hardware configurations. Parallelization speeds up validation in multi-module systems. Automated artifact capture ensures that every result, log, and configuration snapshot is preserved for audit and recertification.
Integrating FIPS 140-3 test automation requires disciplined development practices. Code must align with the standard’s cryptographic boundary definitions. Configuration must lock down algorithm choices to approved selections. Pipelines should include hooks to run full regression checks after any change to cryptographic code paths.
When automation is fully embedded, FIPS 140-3 compliance stops being a one-off project. It becomes a living guarantee baked into every build. Teams release faster, with less manual review, and with confidence that their cryptographic modules are always test-validated against the official standard.
You can see this in action without writing a line of code. Visit hoop.dev, spin up a project, and watch FIPS 140-3 test automation run live in minutes.