808bits

nShield F3 500 [1], nShield F3 500 for NetHSM [2] and nShield F3 10 PCI [3]

FIPS 140-2 certificate #1741 · nCipher Security Limited · data as of 2026-08-28
Historical. Moved to historical list in accordance with SP800-131A Revision 1 Transition (AES/TDES key wrapping). Federal agencies may reference historical validations for existing systems only, not for new procurement.
Caveat: When operated in FIPS mode and initialized to Overall Level 3 per Security Policy

Certificate

Certificate number1741
StandardFIPS 140-2
Statushistorical
Overall level3
Module typeHardware
EmbodimentMulti-chip embedded
VendornCipher Security Limited · website
Hardware versionsnC4033P-500 [1], nC4033P-500N [2] and nC4033P-30 [3], Build Standard N
Firmware versions2.50.16-3, 2.51.10-3, 2.50.35-3 and 2.55.1-3

Module description

The nShield modules: nShield F3 500, Shield F3 500 for NetHSM, and nShield F3 10 family of secure e-commerce HSMs are multi-tasking hardware modules that are optimized for performing modular arithmetic on very large integers. The nShield modules are FIPS 140-2 level 3 embedded devices. The units are identical in operation and only vary in the processing speed.

Approved algorithms

AlgorithmCAVP certificate
AES962, 1579
CVL1
DRBG72
DSA487
ECDSA192
HMAC925
RSA770, 1092
SHS1398
Triple-DES757, 1035
Triple-DES MACvendor affirmed

Other algorithms

ARC4; Aria; Camellia; CAST-6; DES; MD5; SEED; HMAC-MD5; HMAC-Tiger; HMAC-RIPEMD160; RIPEMD-160; Tiger; El-Gamal; KCDSA; HAS-160; AES (Cert. #1579, key wrapping; key establishment methodology provides between 128 and 256 bits of encryption strength); Triple-DES (Cert. #1035, key wrapping; key establishment methodology provides 112 bits of encryption strengh; non-compliant less than 112 bits of encryption strength); RSA (key wrapping; key establishment methodology provides between 112 and 256 bits of encryption strength; non-compliant less than 112 bits of encryption strength); Diffie-Hellman (CVL Cert. #1, key agreement; key establishment methodology provides between 112 and 256 bits of encryption strengh; non-compliant less than 112 bits of encryption strength); EC Diffie-Hellman (CVL Cert. #1, key agreement; key establishment methodology provides between 112 and 256 bits of encryption strengh; non-compliant less than 112 bits of encryption strength); ECMQV (key agreement; key establishment methodology provides between 112 and 256 bits of encryption strengh; non-compliant less than 112 bits of encryption strength)

Validation history

DateTypeLab
2012-06-25InitialDXC Technology
2013-03-08UpdateDXC Technology
2013-08-16UpdateDXC Technology
2015-11-16UpdateDXC Technology
2020-01-29UpdateLightship Security, Inc.

Status timeline

As observed by this tracker's snapshots. NIST publishes no dates for list moves; observation began 2026-08-21, so earlier changes carry no date.

  • 2026-08-21: first observed by this tracker, status historical
  • Validation dates on record: 2012-06-25, 2013-03-08, 2013-08-16, 2015-11-16, 2020-01-29

Source documents