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Security Fundamentals & Crypto · Advanced

Common Criteria (CC)

International standard (ISO/IEC 15408) for evaluating the security of IT products against defined requirements.

Definition

Under Common Criteria, a Protection Profile defines requirements for a product type, the vendor's Security Target describes the Target of Evaluation's claims, and labs evaluate assurance at Evaluation Assurance Levels EAL1 through EAL7. Certification is recognized across member nations under the CCRA. Government buyers often require Common Criteria-certified firewalls and HSMs.

Example

A firewall certified against the NIAP Network Device Protection Profile is approved for US government use.

Exam tip

Higher EAL = more rigorous testing of assurance, not necessarily more security features.

Related terms