808bits

nShield 500 [1], nShield 500 for netHSM [2] and nShield Lite [3]

FIPS 140-2 certificate #651 · nCipher Corporation Ltd. · data as of 2026-08-28
Historical. RNG SP800-131A Revision 1 Transition. Federal agencies may reference historical validations for existing systems only, not for new procurement.
Caveat: When operated in FIPS mode

Certificate

Certificate number651
StandardFIPS 140-2
Statushistorical
Overall level3
Module typeHardware
EmbodimentMulti-chip embedded
VendornCipher Corporation Ltd. · website
Hardware versionsnC4033P-500 [1], nC4033P-500N [2] and nC4033P-30; Build Standards M & N
Firmware versions2.22.6-3, 2.22.34-3 and 2.22.43-3

Module description

The nCipher modules: nShield 500 & nShield Lite family of secure ecommerce HSM's are multi-tasking hardware modules that is optimized for performing modular arithmetic on very large integers. The nCipher 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
AES258
DSA136
ECDSA2
HMAC68
RNG91
RSA68
SHS333
Triple-DES339
Triple-DES MACvendor affirmed

Other algorithms

ARC FOUR; CAST5; CAST 6; DES; DES MAC; MD2; MD5; SEED; HMAC (MD2, MD5, and RIPEMD160); RIPEMD 160; El-Gamal; Blowfish; Twofish; Serpent; KCDSA; HSA 160; Diffie-Hellman (key agreement; key establishment methodology provides between 112 and 256 bits of encryption strength; non-compliant less than 112 bits of encryption strength); EC Diffie-Hellman (key agreement; key establishment methodology provides 192 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)

Validation history

DateTypeLab
2006-04-06InitialDOMUS
2006-06-29Update
2006-12-20Update
2008-06-24Update

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: 2006-04-06, 2006-06-29, 2006-12-20, 2008-06-24

Source documents