FIPS 140-2 (Federal Information Processing Standard) specifies security requirements for cryptographic modules used to protect sensitive information in federal systems. Four levels of increasing security. FIPS 140-3 is the successor. Federal contractors must use FIPS-validated encryption modules for data at rest and in transit.
is a regulation concept federal contractors and grant writers run into across solicitations, regulations, and award filings
FIPS 140-2 is part of the federal regulatory framework that governs procurement, performance, or compliance. For contractors, FIPS 140-2 is not just background — it shapes solicitation language, evaluation criteria, source-selection authority, and what counts as compliant performance. Understanding when FIPS 140-2 applies and (more importantly) when it doesn't apply is the difference between a proposal that's competitive within its actual constraint set and one that over-engineers compliance. Contracting officers use FIPS 140-2 as common vocabulary, so reading their decisions, modifications, and source-selection memoranda gets easier when the regulation is in your working memory. Pair FIPS 140-2 with the related terms above to see how it interacts with adjacent regulatory mechanisms.
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