The Common Criteria is the ISO/IEC 15408 international standard  for Information Technology Security Evaluation (comprised of Parts 1 2 and 3). The methodology for the application of the Common Criteria (CC) is defined in the Common Methodology for Information Technology: Evaluation Methodology (CEM), as reflected in the international standard ISO/IEC 18045.

The Common Criteria is the result of an initiative to develop common requirements for an international standard and method for evaluating the security properties of IT-products and systems.

The Common Criteria was originally developed in co-operation between international standardization and security bodies in Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands and the US. The objective was to replace national methods for security evaluation with common criteria that could be applied and recognized internationally, hence the name.

The objective for using Common Criteria is to facilitate the evaluation of security properties of IT products and systems against specified requirements. The method is flexible and makes it possible to specify security requirements on a product or category of products.

TrustCB is the commercial certification body for The Netherlands Certificate Authorising Scheme, known as NSCIB.