Samsung Galaxy devices carrying the KNOX platform have been given the thumbs up from the US government for classified use.
KNOX is the Android security platform from Samsung originally designed for the needs of national defines, federal and local government and enterprise environments.
After the US Department of Defense gave clearance to five Samsung Galaxy devices for unclassified use back in June, today’s announcement by the US government is an even greater indication of its faith in the KNOX platform.
Following successful testing and certification of several Samsung Galaxy devices, the US government confirmed that the new range of handsets can indeed securely handle the full range of its classified information.
Consequently, Samsung is now the only manufacturer on both the Defence Informations Systems Agency (DISA) list and the Client to the Commercial Solutions for Classified Program (CSFC) Component list.
The full list of approved devices include the Samsung Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 10.1, Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Tab S 8.4, Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and the Galaxy IPSEC Virtual Private Network (VPN).
The Galaxy Note Edge is just one of the US government-approved Samsung devices
“The inclusion of Samsung mobile devices on the CSfC list proves the unmatched security of Samsung Galaxy devices supported by the KNOX platform,” said JK Shin, CEO and President of Samsung’s IT and mobile business.
“At Samsung, we continue to address today’s increasingly complex security challenges, and are committed to delivering the most reliable mobile platform satisfying the needs of professionals in all industries, from SMBs and enterprises to governments and additional regulated markets.”
The White House’s growing trust of the Korean manufacturer’s devices marks a growing threat to BlackBerry’s government monopoly in the US. The down-on-its-luck Canadian smartphone-maker has in the past boasted that only its devices can meet the high-security needs of US and allied government agencies.
Both Barack Obama and UK PM David Cameron have insisted that they rely upon a BlackBerry handset in the office.
The full list of CSFC and DISA-approved devices are available online.
