WISeKey International Holding Ltd. announced that it received validations for a new version of its Vault-IC 405 secure element, specifically designed for government agencies and military secure radio devices using the APCO-P25 standard. The validations, issued by the Cryptographic Module Validation Program included FIPS 140-2 validations for both Level 2 and Level 3. The APCO-P25 standard was developed for interoperable and encrypted digital communication between two-way radio products. As communication upgrades are implemented in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security frequently requires migrating to P25 to ensure interoperability and security.

Other countries worldwide including Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, India and Russia have also adopted the P25 standard. Attaining validations for both Level 2 and Level 3 is an important feature for P25 radios. The Level 2 validation provides certified and interoperable communication for inter-agency collaboration according to the P25 specification.

While FIPS140-2 Level 3 is used for highly secure interoperable communication use cases. Government agencies now require FIPS 140-2 validation to provide tamper proof storage of the encryption keys. This validation level is difficult, costly and very time consuming to achieve.

As a result, the new Vault-IC 405 1.2.6comes as a simple, off-the-shelf and cost-effective certified solution for all secure radio manufacturers, allowing to expand their total available market to new opportunities. To test the product, WISeKey selected UL Solutions, a global leader in applied safety science and a leading testing, inspection and certification company, to perform rigorous tests against the FIPS 140-2 Level 2 and Level 3 standard to confirm security features at one of the highest levels. This accreditation confirms once more WISeKey's position as a trustworthy security technology supplier, specially oriented to the new needs of the IoT.