Enforcing Industry-Standard Cryptographic Compliance Across the Network
March 31, 2026
Deep Network Observability
Aviz Packet Broker 2.12 Introduces FIPS-Compliant Operation
Aviz Networks is announcing FIPS-compliant operation for Aviz Packet Broker 2.12, enabling organizations to meet stringent regulatory and security requirements by enforcing approved cryptographic standards across the platform.
FIPS 140-2 and FIPS 140-3 define how cryptographic modules must implement encryption, key exchange, and authentication to meet government and industry security requirements.
These standards are essential in environments where validated cryptographic enforcement not optional configuration is required.
Why FIPS Compliance Matters
FIPS compliance is:
Mandatory for:
- Government and defense sectors
Widely adopted across regulated industries, including:
- Financial services and banking
- Healthcare
- Critical infrastructure
- Highly regulated enterprise environments
For security architects, compliance teams, and auditors, FIPS ensures that cryptographic operations adhere to tested and approved security standards, eliminating exposure to weak or deprecated algorithms.
Purpose-Built for Standards Enforcement
Aviz Packet Broker 2.12 introduces a FIPS mode that enforces compliance across control-plane services, leveraging FIPS-compliant cryptographic libraries.
- FIPS mode is enabled for services using validated cryptographic modules
- Control-plane features inherit FIPS-compliant cryptographic behavior
- Secure management access (SSH) strictly adheres to approved standards
Validated Cryptographic Behavior
FIPS enforcement has been validated through extensive testing of SSH access and cryptographic negotiation:
- Enabled FIPS mode on the switch and verified secure operation
- Rejected weak ciphers such as 3DES and RC4
- Blocked non-compliant MAC algorithms, including MD5, even when explicitly forced
- Prevented use of weak or legacy key exchange mechanisms
- Verified that only strong, approved cipher suites are offered and negotiated
Even under forced conditions, the system consistently enforces secure cryptographic negotiation with no fallback to insecure algorithms.
Operational Impact
With FIPS-compliant enforcement, organizations can:
- Meet regulatory and audit requirements with confidence
- Secure management plane access using validated cryptography
- Eliminate exposure to weak cryptographic algorithms in control-plane interactions
Availability
FIPS-compliant operation is available with Aviz Packet Broker 2.12.
Ready to gain deeper visibility and control across your network? Talk to our experts to see how Aviz helps secure your network.
1. What is new in Aviz Packet Broker 2.12?
Aviz Networks has introduced FIPS-compliant operation in Aviz Packet Broker 2.12, enabling enforced use of approved cryptographic standards across the platform.
2. What does FIPS compliance mean in practical terms?
FIPS compliance ensures that cryptographic functions such as encryption, authentication, and key exchange use only government-approved, validated cryptographic algorithms with no fallback to weak or deprecated options.
3. Which FIPS standards are supported in Aviz Packet Broker 2.12?
Aviz Packet Broker 2.12 aligns with FIPS 140-2 and FIPS 140-3, which define strict requirements for cryptographic module implementation and enforcement.
4. Why is FIPS compliance important for enterprises?
FIPS compliance is mandatory or strongly recommended in environments where validated cryptography is required to meet regulatory, audit, and security assurance standards.
5. Which industries typically require FIPS-compliant operation?
FIPS compliance is commonly required in government and defense environments and widely adopted in regulated industries such as financial services, healthcare, critical infrastructure, and highly regulated enterprises.
6. How is FIPS compliance enforced in Aviz Packet Broker 2.12?
Aviz Packet Broker 2.12 introduces a dedicated FIPS mode that enforces compliance across control-plane services using FIPS-validated cryptographic libraries.
7. What happens when FIPS mode is enabled?
When FIPS mode is enabled, all applicable services inherit FIPS-compliant cryptographic behavior, and secure management access such as SSH strictly adheres to approved cipher suites and algorithms.
8. How does Aviz ensure weak cryptography is not used?
Extensive validation confirms that weak ciphers like 3DES and RC4, non-compliant MAC algorithms such as MD5, and legacy key exchange mechanisms are rejected even when explicitly forced.
9. What are the operational benefits of FIPS-compliant enforcement?
Organizations can confidently meet regulatory and audit requirements, secure management-plane access, and eliminate exposure to weak cryptographic algorithms in control-plane interactions.
10. When is FIPS-compliant operation available?
FIPS-compliant operation is available starting with Aviz Packet Broker version 2.12, allowing organizations to adopt validated cryptographic enforcement without additional configuration complexity.
