"FIPS" stands for Federal Information Processing Standards. It is a set of standards issued by the National Institute of Technology (NIST) in the United States to ensure the security and interoperability of information technology systems. Federal agencies and contractors use these standards to ensure their information systems are secure and meet certain/specific requirements for handling sensitive information/data.
This article explains enabling FIPS mode in Ubuntu-based systems working with Checkmk.
LAST TESTED ON CHECKMK 2.2.0P1
Step-by-step guide
FIPS mode is only available via an Ubuntu Pro subscription. A $25/yr/Desktop type subscription was used for this demonstration.
More information on attaching an Ubuntu Pro subscription can be found here:
https://ubuntu.com/server/docs/install/subscription
- The following image displays what should be enabled and where to locate your subscription token.
Next, you will need to install Ubuntu Advantage on the system.
[user@mylinuxhost ~]$ sudo apt install ubuntu-advantage-tools
.After you have the token, you can use the following command to activate FIPS via Ubuntu Advantage.
[user@mylinuxhost ~]$ sudo ua attach <your_pro_token>
- Now reboot the system. Here you can see that FIPS mode has been activated.
- Now you can register this host with the Checkmk Agent for monitoring.
Monitored host with FIPS enabled
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