FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards)
FIPS, or the Federal Information Processing Standards, are a set of public standards developed by the United States federal government for use in computer systems by non-military government agencies and government contractors. For PHP developers, FIPS compliance is relevant when building applications that handle sensitive, unclassified government data, particularly those requiring strong cryptographic security.
A PHP application may need to be FIPS-compliant if it operates on a federal network or processes data that falls under federal regulations. This often means ensuring that all cryptographic modules and algorithms used within the application—such as those for encryption, hashing, and digital signatures—are FIPS 140-2 or FIPS 140-3 validated. This ensures the underlying cryptographic functions meet stringent security benchmarks.
Implementing FIPS in PHP Environments
Achieving FIPS compliance in a PHP stack involves more than just writing code. It requires careful configuration of the entire server environment.
- Operating System: The underlying OS, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Windows Server, must be running in a FIPS-compliant mode.
- OpenSSL: The version of OpenSSL used by PHP and the web server must be a FIPS-validated module. Developers must ensure their code calls these specific cryptographic libraries correctly.
- Database Connections: Secure connections to databases, such as TLS/SSL, must also use FIPS-validated cryptographic algorithms.
Developer Responsibilities
A developer working in a FIPS environment is responsible for understanding which cryptographic functions are permitted and ensuring the application exclusively uses them. This requires a strong grasp of security principles and the ability to validate that the entire technology stack is configured correctly.
