News: Samsung's KNOX is rated the strongest mobile security platform

The security of our mobile devices has never been so important. As highlighted in the recent spat between the FBI and Apple over access to an iPhone used by the San Bernadino terrorists, security and encryption is at the heart of our relationship with personal data and has implications for everyday consumers as well as law enforcement agencies.

While BlackBerry is often considered the ultimate platform for smartphone security, you may be surprised to learn that Samsung has just received the strongest rating for its mobile security platform, called KNOX, in key areas such as authentication, encryption, jailbreak and root protection, and application security.

KNOX is primarily used to provide enterprise devices with a level of built-in security over and above that of stock Android. From boot-up to launching apps, the software provides effective security along every step of the chain. The most recent version is also available for Samsung’s latest S7 devices and optimised for Android 6.0.

In its security report “Mobile Device Security: a Comparison of Platforms”, which assessed the core OS features of twelve device platforms in addition to enterprise management capabilities, analyst firm Garner awarded KNOX version 2.6 the strongest ratings of any mobile security platform. It’s also the only platform with strong ratings for every security control listed in the report’s Corporate Managed Security category.

“Guaranteeing users’ privacy and device security is paramount, as smartphones are getting more widely used to store more data”, says Koh Dong-jin, Samsung’s mobile chief, had said earlier. He also said the South Korean firm would improve Android security by improving hardware and software safety through KNOX.

KNOX received high praise in enterprise use and corporate security, highlighting that the platform is considered a solid choice for business-to-business security as far as Android devices are concerned. To date, Samsung is believed to have around 4 million enterprise users of KNOX…

Furthermore, 26 countries have awarded KNOX some form of security approval, including theUK, the U.S. and China.

Lee In-jong, viceVP at Samsung’ IT & mobile communication (IM) division said in a statement recently: “Protection of private information is the most crucial factor in the mobile environment today. We are proud to receive the highest ratings by providing the most powerful security with Knox”.

SOURCE: Samsung Newsroom.