Hardware security standards are established guidelines and specifications designed to ensure the physical and logical security of hardware components, protecting them from tampering, unauthorized access, and cyber threats. These standards cover aspects such as secure boot, cryptographic module protection, physical tamper resistance, and supply chain integrity.
Key Hardware Security Standards:
FIPS 140-3 (Federal Information Processing Standard): Defines security requirements for cryptographic modules used in government and commercial systems. It ensures data encryption and key management are secure.
Example: A payment terminal using FIPS 140-3 certified hardware to encrypt transaction data.
Common Criteria (ISO/IEC 15408): An international standard for evaluating the security features of IT products, including hardware. It provides assurance levels (EAL1 to EAL7) for trusted computing.
Example: A secure enclave chip in a laptop certified under Common Criteria EAL4+ for protecting sensitive data.
TPM (Trusted Platform Module) Standards: TPM is a hardware-based security feature that provides secure cryptographic operations, key storage, and platform integrity checks.
Example: A server with TPM 2.0 to securely store encryption keys and verify system boot integrity.
CC EAL (Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level): Specifies the depth of security evaluation for hardware, with higher levels indicating stricter testing.
Example: A military-grade firewall hardware certified at EAL6+ for high-assurance protection.
Cloud-Related Hardware Security:
For cloud environments, hardware security is critical for protecting data centers and virtualized infrastructure. Tencent Cloud offers hardware-based security solutions like Tencent Cloud TCE (Tencent Cloud Enterprise) with trusted computing modules and secure enclaves to ensure data confidentiality and integrity. Additionally, Tencent Cloud's hardware security modules (HSMs) comply with FIPS 140-3 and Common Criteria, providing secure key management for cloud workloads.