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CleanStart

Embedding FIPS 140-2 Compliance at the Foundation

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Embedding FIPS 140-2 Compliance at the Foundation

Federal agencies, defense contractors and FedRAMP providers must use cryptographic modules validated under FIPS 140-2 or 140-3, yet retrofitting them into containers adds complexity, and certification can take up to two years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. This architecture insight separates FIPS-validated from FIPS-compliant and shows how CleanStart OS embeds CMVP-validated OpenSSL and BoringSSL at the foundation, blocks non-validated modules and runs self-tests. Containers inherit validation, and auditors verify it at the operating-system level.