Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets have just become the first consumer mobile devices approved by the US National Security Agency (NSA) to carry classified documents. The edict covers most of its newer Galaxy devices, including the Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 4, and the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet (2014 edition) -- as long as they're equipped with Knox, Samsung's mobile security app. Knox-enabled devices have already been approved by the US Department of Defense, but only for general, not classified, use. That's a shot of good news for Samsung in the face of recent dismal earnings, and it no doubt wants to translate the NSA's golden nod into consumer and corporate sales. Ironically, many of those potential customers may be paranoid... of the NSA.
Samsung Knox Mobile Security Cleared By NSA For Government Use - HotHardware
Knox initially met with resistance from some in the security industry, due to fears that it might be vulnerable, but the Department of Defense cleared Samsung devices earlier this year. The nod from the D.o.D. and its new spot on the NSA Commercial Solutions for Classified Program Components List (CSfC) will likely give Knox a significant credibility boost.
The NSA list clears Galaxy S4, S5, Note 3, and 10.1 (2014 Edition) devices running Android 4.4.2. The company’s IPSEC VPN client for Galaxy devices is also cleared. “The inclusion of Samsung mobile devices on the CSfC list proves the unmatched security of Samsung Galaxy devices supported by the KNOX platform,” JK Shin, CEO and president of IT and mobile business, Samsung Electronics said in a statement.
Samsung announced that the Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Tab S 8.4, Galaxy Tab S 10.5 have also been cleared for handling classified information.
U.S. OKs Samsung devices for classified data | Air Force Times | airforcetimes.com
Mobile devices from Korean electronics giant Samsung [Knox] have been approved for classified U.S. government use. This marks the first time that consumer devices, validated by the NSA-managed National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) standard, have been approved to handle U.S. classified information, according to a Samsung announcement.
Based on the specifications in 10 Memoranda of Agreement between the government and the company, the government added 10 devices to its Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) Program Component List:
- Galaxy S4,
- Galaxy S5,
- Galaxy Note 3,
- Galaxy Note 4,
- Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition),
- Galaxy Note Edge,
- Galaxy Alpha,
- Galaxy Tab S 8.4,
- Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and the
- Galaxy IPSEC Virtual Private Network (VPN) Client.
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