GLOSSARY
Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS)
Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) are publicly announced standards developed by the United States Federal government for use by all non-military government agencies and by government contractors. Many FIPS standards are modified versions of standards used in the wider community (ANSI, IEEE, ISO, etc.)
Some FIPS standards were originally developed by the U.S. government. For instance, standards for encoding data (e.g. country codes), but more significantly some encryption standards, such as the Data Encryption Standard (FIPS 46-3) and the Advanced Encryption Standard (FIPS 197) In 1994, NOAA began broadcasting coded signals called FIPS (Federal Information Processing System) codes along with their standard weather broadcasts from local stations. These codes identify the type of emergency and the specific geographic area (such as a county) affected by the emergency.
