A half-year read on where FIPS 140-3 validation actually stands. Between January and mid-July 2026, 30 new FIPS 140-3 certificates were issued or announced across non-hyperscaler, non-tier-1 vendors, spanning HSMs, authentication, cryptographic libraries, edge/IoT and embedded modules. With FIPS 140-2 fully retiring on 21 September 2026, this is no longer a future consideration. It's active, measurable, and already reshaping vendor selection. This SITG-Consulting Thematic Rev