Enforcing FIPS 140-3 Compliance for Non-Human Identities

FIPS 140-3 defines the security requirements for cryptographic modules used to protect sensitive data. It is the benchmark for ensuring encryption is implemented and validated correctly. Non-human identities—service accounts, CI/CD pipelines, IoT devices, containers—are often overlooked in compliance checks. They hold keys, tokens, and certificates that grant direct access to APIs, databases, and customer data.

Unchecked, these identities become the weakest link. They operate without human interaction, so their credentials often remain static, reused, and underprotected. FIPS 140-3 compliance for non-human identities means every cryptographic operation uses approved algorithms, modules are validated, and keys are generated, stored, and destroyed according to strict rules. This is not optional for organizations handling regulated data: failure to comply risks legal penalties, security incidents, and lost trust.

Understanding the requirements starts with identifying where non-human identities exist in the system. Map every integration, microservice, and automated process. Replace non-compliant crypto modules with FIPS 140-3 validated libraries. Ensure key management systems meet the standard and that signing operations occur inside validated hardware security modules (HSMs) or equivalent environments. Audit logs should record every cryptographic event tied to these identities.

Automation is critical. Manual enforcement doesn’t scale across hundreds or thousands of machine accounts. Centralize non-human identity management. Apply policy-as-code to enforce FIPS-compliant cryptography across environments. Integrate compliance checks directly into build pipelines. No deploy should pass without validated encryption for all non-human identities involved.

Security teams should run periodic verification using NIST's validation lists to confirm modules stay compliant after updates. Container images, firmware, and cloud functions must be rebuilt with validated crypto to prevent drift. Build an identity registry where every non-human credential is tracked, rotated, and removed at end-of-life.

FIPS 140-3 for non-human identities is not just a checklist—it’s the foundation for securing automated systems. Organizations that adopt automated enforcement reduce attack surfaces and meet compliance at scale. Those that delay put every connected system at risk.

See how enforcing FIPS 140-3 compliance for non-human identities can be automated end-to-end. Try it live on hoop.dev in minutes.