Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) mode ensures that PingAccess uses encryption algorithms that meet FIPS requirements.
When FIPS mode is enabled, PingAccess updates the security.providers list to use the Bouncy Castle FIPS (BCFIPS) provider and removes all unneeded security providers that are not FIPS-compliant.
If FIPS mode is enabled, you can view your environment's FIPS mode status in the administrative console or the audit log:
- To view FIPS mode in the administrative console, go to and in the System Information section, find FIPS mode status.
- To view FIPS mode in the audit log, review the audit log after starting PingAccess. If FIPS mode is enabled, an
info-level entry indicates this status. For
example:
INFO [] Fipsconfig - PingAccess is currently running in FIPS Mode.
Some features of PingAccess operate differently or are unavailable in FIPS mode.
Certificate and private key format requirements:
- In non-FIPS mode, PingAccess supports PKCS#12 and PEM-formatted certificates and private keys. It automatically detects which format was used.
- In FIPS mode, PingAccess only supports PEM-formatted certificates and private keys. That is, key pairs can only be imported or exported using the PEM-encoded format. Only PBES2 and AES or Triple DES encryption are accepted and 128-bit salt is required. In practice, this could mean that you can only import PEM files generated by PingFederate.
- For PEM files in FIPS mode, the private key must precede the certificates.
Password format requirements:
- In FIPS mode, the password must contain at least 14 characters.
To manage FIPS mode, select a tab.
Enabling FIPS mode
Enable FIPS mode to ensure that PingAccess exclusively uses encryption algorithms permitted by the FIPS standard. If your environment is clustered, make sure to perform this procedure on all nodes.
In this procedure, you can manually specify security providers, TLS protocols, and TLS cipher suites that can be used. If your manual inclusions are not FIPS-compliant, your environment might not be FIPS-compliant even in FIPS mode.
Disabling FIPS Mode
Disable FIPS Mode to allow the use of non-FIPS compliant encryption. If your environment is clustered, perform this procedure on all nodes.