Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ smartphone range receive protected-level Australian Signals Directorate certification

Galaxy devices meet Australian Government’s stringent security standards.

Samsung Electronics Australia has today announced that the Galaxy S9 and S9+ range of mobile devices have been granted protected-level certification by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).

The certification means that the Galaxy S9 and S9+ devices, featuring Samsung’s security platform Knox, meet the stringent Australian Government security standards to host the protected-level communications, information, and datasets of government agencies.

Based on the successful evaluation, government agencies are now assured that local Australian variants of the Galaxy S9 and S9+ meet the Australian Government security requirements to host protected information when used with the security configuration guidance published on the ASD ACSC website*.

Garry McGregor, Vice President of IT and Mobile, Samsung Electronics Australia said: “Receiving the protected-level certification for this range of devices is a significant milestone and testament to the security standards that we can provide users in Government departments.”

“From a hardware and software level, security is embedded into our devices and is a core pillar for how we ensure that our customers can operate our smartphones with confidence and with the option to scale their security protocols based on the needs of their workplace.”

In order to obtain the certification, the Samsung devices were evaluated under the ASD Cryptographic Evaluation (ACE) program, which tested the strength and effectiveness of the security architecture and cryptographic algorithms. The evaluation also assessed the implementation of the Internet Protocol Security (IPsec), secure encryption key generation and secure certificate generation.

“Samsung is committed to working with Australian organisations to ensure that our devices can provide the best possible levels of functionality as well as security.” McGregor added.

The certification from the ASD highlights the strength of Samsung’s Knox platform and functionality that is embedded within all Galaxy S9 and S9+ devices, as well as the wider Samsung portfolio. The Knox platform is built into devices at both the hardware and software levels.

* https://www.cyber.gov.au/publications/epl/samsung-galaxy-s9-sm-g960f-s9-sm-g965f-knox-30

Further information on the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) certification:

https://www.cyber.gov.au/irap/certified-services

https://www.cyber.gov.au/programs/asd-cryptographic-evaluation-program