Guidelines on Test Session Capabilities

Summary

A test session is expected to represent the complete capabilities of a specific OE for a specific algorithm, so it will replace any existing data for that OE/algorithm. As such, if a user wishes to add new capabilities (key sizes/lengths, etc.) to an existing algorithm on an existing certificate, that user must be sure to include the capabilities of the original test session as well.

Practical Sample

In practice, this means that if a lab has already tested and received a certificate on OE 1 for Algorithm A using key sizes X and Z, but wishes to add key size Y, they must retest X and Z, resulting in a new submission containing testing for X, Y, and Z. If they failed to do so, testing only key size Y and certifying the test session, the resulting certificate would list only the capabilities of the most recent test session certified, meaning only key size Y.

NOTE: For the purposes of discussing this topic, an "algorithm" is uniquely identified by the algorithm, mode and revision values provided in a registration.