[FDE] How important is FIPS 140-2 Level 1 cert

[mr carboni]

Hello -
  The way I've understood it is the FIPS 140-2 level 'X' is Mandated towards the USA Financial and now US Gov markets <recongnized in EU and AU>.  It is a detailed standard that ensures Crypto products can do what they state -  but still only 'required' in the US market.  The International Community is now relying on CC (common criteria) for a wider range of Evaluation Assured Levels.
  So to answer the original question - the FIPS 140-2-L2 product underwent a more stringent set of testing - so go for that product.   But also look for other Certifications
  here is a tid-bit from Corsec:
  http://www.corsec.com/docs.php
  There are three different validations that products can receive: 
  
The International Common Criteria for Information Security Technology Evaluation Mutual Recognition Arrangement;   
The National Security Agency (NSA)/National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) Evaluation and Validation Program; or   
The NIST Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) validation program.
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