Samsung and Microsoft introduce new hardware attestation to protect Galaxy device users

Samsung Electronics and Microsoft have introduced a new security feature for hardware that aims to protect against the increasingly sophisticated nature of cyber attacks.

The on-device attestation solution, considered a first in the industry, adds an additional layer of mobile device protection for users of Samsung Galaxy devices wherever they work, the companies announced on the sidelines of the launch of the new Galaxy Z foldable smartphones in Seoul.

It is also designed to protect users in the work-from-anywhere era, when using one's own devices and connecting them to different and potentially insecure networks have become the norm.

“Security continues to be paramount, especially now that we're talking about things that are operating outside of the perimeter of corporate networks,” KC Choi, executive vice president and head of the global mobile B2B team at Samsung, said in a media roundtable.

“In many cases, such as when using virtual private networks, it's not good enough any more to just have that type of security protocol. Moving more towards a zero-trust environment was critical in planning our ecosystem.”

Enterprises have prioritised ensuring the protection of devices being used by their employees as they continue to stand guard against any and all forms of cyber security threats.

This was made more challenging as remote working became a standard in a post-Covid environment, forcing companies to include users' own devices in their protection agenda.

Manufacturers of mobile devices have been integrating their own security features into their devices to protect users.

Seoul-based Samsung has its Knox protection technology – which is marking its 10th year in 2023 – which gives users full visibility over who has access to their data and how it is being used.

For an added layer of security, the Knox vault protects confidential data by isolating it from the rest of the device. This is particularly important given that Samsung said it suffered a cybersecurity breach last year that exposed the personal information of some customers in the US.

Apple, meanwhile, has its Keychain password management system and Hide My E-mail, which creates random email addresses to keep personal emails private for online activities and a password generation system that suggests difficult to guess passwords.

Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, meanwhile, has been promoting the zero-trust principle, which by default means a user trusts nobody, and anybody who attempts to access personal data or information has to prove their trustworthiness.

The latest versions of Microsoft's Windows 11 operating systems bank on this to protect users who are under constant threat from cyber attacks in the work-from-anywhere era.

“Attackers become even more aggressive and are able to pierce even the strongest defences,” said Michael Wallent, corporate vice president of Microsoft's enterprise mobility management group.

“In this zero-trust world, if I can't trust the device, then the keys to the kingdom are lost, the gates are wide open … securing both corporate reliable devices and BYODs [bring your own devices] is incredibly challenging.”

The new attestation solution can allow even the most security-conscious enterprises to adopt a BYOD policy to increase productivity and privacy for mobile workers on their preferred Galaxy devices, Microsoft said.