RECENT BLOG NEWS

HI! We have been industrious in moving forward with our FIPS 140-3 efforts! Here’s where we are at now:

1. We are in the Implementation Under Test part of the NIST process. You can see from the list: https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/cryptographic-module-validation-program/modules-in-process/iut-list that wolfSSL, Apple, and Intel are leading the FIPS 140-3 charge!
2. NEW AND COOL: RSA 4096 will be inside of our FIPS 140-3 boundary. More bit strength, more security!
3. NEW AND COOL: ECDSA with SHA-3 will be inside the FIPS 140-3 boundary! Let’s all welcome SHA-3 to the FIPS universe!
4. Timelines: We have now iterated with our lab a few times, and are approaching completion of all of our pre-lab work. Once the pre-lab work is completed in the next month or so, the Lab’s work begins in earnest, followed by NIST reviews.

We will not be able to get you a FIPS 140-3 wolfCrypt for Christmas this year, due to a little waiting we are doing on ACVP and IG’s, but we endeavor to lead the market with the freshest FIPS code!

If you have any questions or run into any issues, contact us at facts@wolfssl.com, or call us at +1 425 245 8247.

Your partners in the best and most progressive FIPS solutions,

Team wolfSSL

This week we are tackling a new series of blog posts on the hottest topics! 

This week’s question is: What is the difference between SSL and TLS? 

TLS stands for Transport Layer Security. On the other hand, SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It is important to note that SSL 2.0 and 3.0 have been deprecated by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in 2011 and 2015.  Both are cryptographic protocols for securing connections between clients and hosts communication over a computer network. The main differences are apparent when it comes to completing the task of encrypting connections. 

Both SSL and TLS refer to the handshake that occurs between a client and a server. The handshake does not encrypt anything itself but rather securely agrees on the shared encryption type to be used. Additionally the handshake takes part in multiple roundtrips as authentication and key exchange occur. On the other hand, TLS 1.3 has reduced the number of cipher suites available in the protocol, and restructured how the cipher suite “string” is represented. 

In conclusion, while these two terms are still used interchangeably, when considering server configuration there are some significant differences in the architecture and fundamentals of the two protocols that do leave your server at risk, if using SSL, to vulnerabilities, outdated cipher suites and browser security warnings. So, note that in your servers, you should only have TLS protocols enabled to have a secure server. 

Are you new to wolfSSL? 

wolfSSL focuses on providing lightweight and embedded security solutions with an emphasis on speed, size, portability, features, and standards compliance, such as FIPS 140-2 and 140-3, RTCA DO-178C level A certification, and support for MISRA-C capabilities. wolfSSL supports industry standards up to the current TLS 1.3 and DTLS 1.2, is up to 20 times smaller than OpenSSL, offers a simple API, an OpenSSL compatibility layer, is backed by the robust wolfCrypt cryptography library, and much more. Our products are open source, giving customers the freedom to look under the hood.

Contact Us 

If you have any questions or run into any issues, contact us at facts@wolfssl.com, or call us at +1 425 245 8247.

Additional Resources 

In the meanwhile, check out the wolfSSL embedded SSL/TLS library, star us on Github, and learn more about the latest TLS 1.3 is available in wolfSSL. 

Learn more about TLS and SSL differences here: 

https://www.wolfssl.com/differences-between-ssl-and-tls-protocol-versions-3/

Shields UP #24: Using wolfSSL and Pre configured TrustFlex ATECC608 Secure Element for TLS Networks

Learn how to implement mutual authentication using X509 certificates with the WolfSSL TLS stack and the TrustFLEX ATECC608 secure element from Microchip’s Trust Platform. We will discuss TLS concepts in the first half of the webinar, and then an expert from WolfSSL will give a hands-on demonstration featuring a SAM D21 Cortex®-M0+ based microcontroller and a WINC1500 Wi-Fi® module to show how easy it is to get started with mutual authentication.

Check out the Github Page: https://github.com/wolfSSL/microchip-atecc-demos

Watch this webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEPG5p7CMzA

Contact Us 

If you have any questions or run into any issues, contact us at facts@wolfssl.com, or call us at +1 425 245 8247.

Additional Resources 

In the meanwhile, check out the wolfSSL embedded SSL/TLS library, star us on Github, and learn more about the latest TLS 1.3 is available in wolfSSL. 

This week we are tackling the question: what is the difference between FIPS 140-2 and FIPS 140-3? wolfSSL is currently the leader in embedded FIPS certificates and we always want to keep our users up to the date on the latest standards! 

With various specification updates, the newest standard of FIPS 140-3 will include the hardware module, firmware module, software module, hybrid-software module, and hybrid-firmware module and will have no restriction as to the level at which a hybrid module may be validated in the new standard. This is beneficial to vendors with hybrid modules looking to be validated at a higher level than level 1. FIPS 140-2 standard was originally written with all modules as hardware and only later were additional modules added. 

While both FIPS 140-2 and FIPS 140-3  include the four logical interface data input, data output, control input, and status output.  FIPS 140-3 introduces a fifth interface, called the control output interface for the use of output of commands including signals and control data to indicate the state of operation.  Instead of the use of a “trusted path” used in FIPS 140-2, FIPS 140-3 uses a “trusted channel” which is a secure communications link between the cryptographic module and the end point device which is sending data to and receiving data from the module, with the goal of securing unprotected CSPs. In FIPS 140-3, the Level 4 module using a trusted channel must use multi-factor identity-based authentication for all services using the trusted channel.

Instead of requiring module support for crypto officer and user roles with the maintenance role as optional, FIPS 140-3 only requires the crypto officer role. There is a new capability within FIPS 140-3, called the “Self-Initiated Cryptographic Output Capability” where a module can perform cryptographic operations or other approved security functions without any operator intervention. 

Check out our other blogpost on what is new with FIPS 140-3 here: https://www.wolfssl.com/whats-new-fips-140-3/

When it comes to wolfSSL, we are ready to offer the first implementation of FIPS 140-3: 

• The power-on self-test is changing. It now takes two sets of tests: the Pre-operational Self-Test (POST) and the Conditional Algorithm Self-Test (CAST).
• The old Known Answer Tests used as a part of the old test are not required to run at startup. They are now conditional tests that must be run right before use of an algorithm. If you don’t use an algorithm, you don’t need to test it. The tests will run automatically on calling any API for an algorithm.
• The pre-operational self-test is now purely an integrity test of the executable in memory. The algorithms used for this test must be tested first. In our case, HMAC-SHA-256’s CAST is run automatically, then the POST. The POST will be run automatically as wolfCrypt’s default entry point in the code.
• All the tests may be and should be run periodically during run time. We will provide an API to run tests as desired. In an embedded application, you can run your CAST early before any algorithms are used as some CASTs do take time.

Contact Us 

If you have any questions or run into any issues, contact us at facts@wolfssl.com, or call us at +1 425 245 8247.

Additional Resources 

In the meanwhile, check out the wolfSSL embedded SSL/TLS library, star us on Github, and learn more about the latest TLS 1.3 is available in wolfSSL. 

At wolfSSL, we work together with our customers to enhance embedded security. This includes providing an embedded MCU TPM, MCU secure boot, and similar security options.

Today, there is a de-facto standard for IoT security and that is the use of Secure Boot. However, Secure Boot provides us with only a single check over our system image. Therefore, we want to offer our customers the possibility to upgrade from Secure Boot to using Measured Boot with our fully open-source embedded systems secure boot solution, wolfBoot.

During the lifecycle of IoT products there is configuration and user data being updated that also needs protection. Measured Boot provides us the ability to check not only our application image at boot but do so in stages. We could verify the state of our device configuration before applying it. Additionally, we could verify the integrity of the user settings and data before making them available for use, thus increasing the level of certainty in the state of our system before the user starts using it.

To enable this feature, we have already created integration between wolfBoot and wolfTPM. By using a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) we better protect the SecureBoot process, and using an embedded systems TPM is the best way to do it. Would you like us to extend this process to a Measured Boot?

Do you want the capability to check your device configuration before the system starts?

Would you like to check the system state deeper after an update?

If you have any questions or run into any issues, contact us at facts@wolfssl.com, or call us at +1 425 245 8247.

Yours truly,

The wolfSSL Team

1. wolfTPM can run on resource constrained MCU, Embedded Systems and devices (IoT, Edge)

2. wolfTPM can be used in Trusted Execution Environments(TEE) and ARM TrustZone

3. wolfTPM does not have external dependencies

4. wolfTPM is the only open-source TPM2.0 stack that can be used in bare metal firmware

4.1 For industrial products using superloop architecture

4.2 For medical devices using state machines

4.3 For safety critical systems that use time scheduler

4.4 In any Real-Time-Operating-System

5. wolfTPM offers high-level wrapper functions to remove the knowledge barrier for newcomers to TPMs

6. wolfTPM maintains backward API compatibility

7. wolfTPM offers wrappers of TPM functions to accelerate development for professionals who want to add more security to their Secure Boot process, such as attestation and TPM seal/unseal

8. wolfTPM cuts R&D cost and time for development thanks to small code base and rich set of examples

9. wolfTPM offers many ready to use examples, like Certificate Signing Request example, Time attestation, and PCR attestation examples

10. wolfTPM is open-source and project development happens completely on GitHub

Extra. wolfTPM is the TPM stack chosen for the tutorial series on Attestation for newcomers at TPM.dev – https://developers.tpm.dev/posts/attestation-part-1

If you have any questions or run into any issues, contact us at facts@wolfssl.com, or call us at +1 425 245 8247.

wolfCrypt has been listed on the CMVP IUT List for FIPS 140-3! We are currently working with our testing lab to get validated as quickly as possible with the new FIPS standard from the NIST.

Among the changes for FIPS 140-3 are conditional algorithm self-tests, where the algorithm self-tests are only performed if used. The pre-operational self-test is now faster, as all the algorithms are not tested until needed. This helps with startup times as the public key self-testing can be time consuming. The self tests can be run at appropriate times for your application startup. Also, there is additional testing of the DRBG entropy sources.

wolfSSL is the first software library on the FIPS 140-3 IUT list for embedded development. We are leaving our competition in the dust.

If you have any questions or run into any issues, contact us at facts@wolfssl.com, or call us at +1 425 245 8247.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has pushed for further guidelines and regulations to ensure security in Avionics Systems. The report indicates potential cyber risks such as data spoofing, outdated systems, long update cycles, and software vulnerabilities. Researches have also highlighted the vulnerabilities to in-flight connectivity systems including the usage of cheap equipment to eavesdrop on satellite signals that may expose in-flight passenger data. wolfSSL is the leader in Cybersecurity for Avionics Systems and can be applied to mitigate risks and vulnerabilities that come with these breaches. See how wolfSSL can be used in your Avionics applications today!

Aviation today article can be found here.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or run into any issues, contact us at facts@wolfssl.com, or call us at +1 425 245 8247.