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Samsung has always been known for their software modifications on top of Android and depending on your outlook, that’s either a good or bad thing. For a lot of users, this means extra features that simply aren’t available in stock Android or other devices, but for others it means yet more “bloatware” that they either have to wade through or disable in order to slim down their overall experience. One thing’s for sure though, when Samsung added their KNOX security to Android, Samsung devices all over the world suddenly became more attractive to enterprise customers and with this latest news, businesses might be giving even more thought to using Samsung smartphones.
In a press release this week, Samsung announced that the KNOX suite of security services recovered certification from both China’s Information Security Certification Center (ISCCC) and France’s National Agency of Computer Security (ANSSI). Samsung did go on to admit that they “worked closely” with both parties, so there is a chance that specific modifications were made and that both French and Chinese agencies will receive different versions than the one available out of the box. Regardless, getting yet more government approval around the world is a big deal for Samsung’s KNOX product, and it was only a few years ago we’d expect to be hearing products from BlackBerry or Microsoft get this same sort of approval.
The version tested was KNOX 2.3 and in the case of the ISCCC Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Galaxy Note 5 are the devices that will be used by employees of China’s government officials and those in public sector jobs. In Europe, France’s ANSSI were keen to explore the ‘dynamic partitioning’ available with KNOX, allowing companies and agencies to securely separate data, yet keep them in the same device. The French and Chinese authorities join those in Finland, Russia, the UK and the USA that have given KNOX the nod to be used in sensitive areas and by government authorities. Now, what was once a feature dubbed as nothing more than another gimmick to lure people in has become a big strength for Samsung, and proves that Android can be secure enough for the enterprise market.