FIPS Standard

Password: a string of characters (letters, numbers, and other symbols) used to authenticate an identity or to
verify access authorization.
Personal identification number (PIN): an alphanumeric code or password used to authenticate an identity.
Physical protection: the safeguarding of a cryptographic module, cryptographic keys, or CSPs using
physical means.
Plaintext key: an unencrypted cryptographic key.
Port: a physical entry or exit point of a cryptographic module that provides access to the module for
physical signals, represented by logical information flows (physically separated ports do not share the same
physical pin or wire).
Private key: a cryptographic key, used with a public key cryptographic algorithm, that is uniquely
associated with an entity and is not made public.
Protection Profile: an implementation-independent set of security requirements for a category of Targets of
Evaluation (TOEs) that meet specific consumer needs.
Public key: a cryptographic key used with a public key cryptographic algorithm that is uniquely associated
with an entity and that may be made public. (Public keys are not considered CSPs.)
Public key certificate: a set of data that uniquely identifies an entity, contains the entity's public key, and is
digitally signed by a trusted party, thereby binding the public key to the entity.
Public key (asymmetric) cryptographic algorithm: a cryptographic algorithm that uses two related keys, a
public key and a private key. The two keys have the property that deriving the private key from the public
key is computationally infeasible.
Random Number Generator: Random Number Generators (RNGs) used for cryptographic applications
typically produce a sequence of zero and one bits that may be combined into sub-sequences or blocks of
random numbers. There are two basic classes: deterministic and nondeterministic. A deterministic RNG
consists of an algorithm that produces a sequence of bits from an initial value called a seed. A
nondeterministic RNG produces output that is dependent on some unpredictable physical source that is
outside human control.
Removable cover: a cover designed to permit physical access to the contents of a cryptographic module.
Secret key: a cryptographic key, used with a secret key cryptographic algorithm, that is uniquely associated
with one or more entities and should not be made public.
Secret key (symmetric) cryptographic algorithm: a cryptographic algorithm that uses a single secret key for
both encryption and decryption.
Security policy: see Cryptographic module security policy.
Seed key: a secret value used to initialize a cryptographic function or operation.
Simple power analysis (SPA): a direct (primarily visual) analysis of patterns of instruction execution (or
execution of individual instructions), obtained through monitoring the variations in electrical power
consumption of a cryptographic module, for the purpose of revealing the features and implementations of
cryptographic algorithms and subsequently the values of cryptographic keys.
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