Because a station running in FIPS mode demonstrates few behavioral differences from a station not running in FIPS mode, you have several ways to check the FIPS status of a station at any time. These are in addition to the station startup messages (see FIPS station startup messages).
Use the following methods to verify a station’s FIPS status:
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The station’s PlatformServices container has a new “FIPS Status” property, found at the bottom of the service’s default view (Platform Services Container Plugin). See Figure 1.
This property is not present unless the host is licensed for FIPS or the FIPS distribution has been installed.
The FIPS Status property has one of the following values:
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Enabled— Indicates the station is running in FIPS mode. -
Disabled (Licensed/JAR Not Installed)— Indicates the host platform is correctly licensed, but the FIPS distribution can not be found. The station is not running in FIPS mode. -
Disabled (JAR Installed/Not Licensed)— Indicates the FIPS distribution was correctly installed, but the host platform is not licensed for FIPS. The station is not running in FIPS mode.
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Providing that the
platCryptomodule is installed in the host, the station’s “spy page” includes a “cryptography info” link you can view. See Figure 2.Figure 2. Station’s spy page includes “cryptography info” page with FIPS status and provider details
As shown, the “fips mode” entry displays “
ON” if the station is running in FIPS mode, and “OFF” otherwise. In addition, a station running in FIPS mode has the Entrust, IAIK and IAIK_JSSE providers listed, as shown in Figure 2.
