A few weeks ago, we launched the One UI 7 beta program. It marked the start of a new era with the first AI-integrated operating system, a true AI platform that vastly improves mobile experiences for users through unprecedented personalization.

Galaxy’s approach to AI personalization, from our launch of the first AI phone to our continuous innovation of on-device AI, is to never compromise on privacy. We know you want the benefits of mobile AI that truly understands you. You want a phone, tailored to your lifestyle, that adds to what you can do while removing everyday barriers – all with no risk of personal information being misused.

In anticipation of the next standard-setting Galaxy S series smartphones, we’re giving Galaxy users greater peace of mind alongside greater personalization. That’s why we’ve created the Personal Data Engine, a powerful privacy advancement that ensures on-device, cross-app personal data protection.

Personalized data is stored in a secure space, carefully safeguarded by an encryption key that’s managed by Knox Vault. That’s the same trusted platform used to secure the most sensitive information on your smartphone, such as your biometric data. And as an added layer of protection, post-quantum cryptography future-proofs the security of your data against rising quantum computing threats.

[1]

On this fortified foundation of privacy, we’re opening up more possibilities for mobile experiences tailored to your life, only with Galaxy.

One defining element of One UI 7 is Now Bar, which gives personalization a new meaning by seamlessly integrating your everyday actions and most-used apps into your lock screen. It’s where you’ll control your entertainment, time your next personal best workout, get directions to your next meeting, or start communicating in other languages.

Now Bar will also be an access point for the most comprehensively insightful experiences ever on Galaxy. Now your phone won’t just ping you, it will power your lifestyle.

Imagine you’re packing for a trip from Seoul, Korea, to San Jose, California. While you get ready, your phone offers a prompt to create a folder of your essential apps for quicker access. So you don’t miss your flight, it lets you know when it’s time to leave for the airport. It even provides a curated travel playlist to set the mood for your long flight.

With a single swipe, you can access the weather forecast – no need to search or check various apps. Throughout your trip, your phone captures the magic of each moment, and as each day winds down, it helps you relive the highlights.

Morning and night, Galaxy AI will keep you both informed and inspired with actionable tips and recommendations[2] uniquely tailored to your life. Game-changing personalization with privacy you can always trust. This is the next evolution of Galaxy AI.

[1] Actual UX/UI may vary.

[2] Some features may require Samsung Account login. Service availability may vary by country, language, device model, apps.

But while technology changes, your right to privacy doesn’t. New developments mean new ways of data being processed. At Samsung, we think you should have the full picture when it comes to your personal information. We believe transparency, choice and control must be at the core of the mobile experience.

In this highly digitized world, your security and privacy are more important than ever, so it’s only right that our users have full control over their devices. That’s why we focus on providing solutions that allow you to have complete controllability and total empowerment over how your data is used.

Security & Privacy Dashboard:

This belief is the cornerstone of our Security & Privacy Dashboard. The Dashboard enables you to have complete control over your data, including who sees it and how it gets used. In one simple and easy-to-use interface, you can view, create and update your app permissions, controls and data-sharing features – effectively enabling you to call the shots on your data and customize your experience, your way.

The Dashboard also allows you to see any data that may be at risk, intuitively showing you the safety status of security items.

Settings > Security and privacy

From there, you can quickly and easily change your settings to manage potential dangers at the touch of a button. Items are ordered in priority of the functions that could have the most significant impact on your online safety – such as lock screen, account security, lost device protection via Find My Mobile, app security and updates. These are instantly accessible at the top, with intuitive red, yellow or green alerts showing any problems at a glance and providing clear indicators of any security issues.

Of course, we also do the work for you. Apps can continue tracking data for months, even when they are not in use – but Galaxy devices proactively remove permissions from apps that have not been used in a while, which can then be reinstated if you choose in the Dashboard.

You can do this through Permission Manager and Permission Usage. Permission Manager easily shows you which apps can access your data – whether it’s your location, camera or microphone and in which context (for example, if it’s only when using the app). Permission Usage provides an easy way for you to see your recently used permissions – specifically, which apps have used a certain permission in the last 24 hours or seven days. And, to make things even easier, we also provide instant action prompts through the Dashboard to help make data decisions more intuitive and transparent.

It’s simple to access your Security & Privacy Dashboard. Just go to Settings and Security & Privacy, where you can review and adjust permissions as you see fit.

You can also play with features to further enhance your device’s privacy, such as the Clipboard Access toggle. Turning this setting on (by going to Settings, then Privacy and looking for the toggle “Alert when clipboard accessed”) means that any time an app pastes something from your clipboard, you’ll get a notification. No more hidden activity.

It’s never been easier to see and understand your data privacy with Galaxy. We put the control in your hands.

Find My Mobile / Samsung Find:

It’s one of life’s inevitabilities – at some point, we all misplace our phones. But with Find My Mobile and Samsung Find, you no longer need to worry about your device’s personal information getting into the wrong hands.

Once Find My Mobile is enabled, Samsung Find allows you to locate, lock and even erase your device’s data to create an access lockdown. You can find your device even if it’s not connected to a mobile network, as long as it’s turned on. And through Samsung Find, it’s not only your Galaxy phone you can hunt down – but also your Galaxy Buds, tablets, watches and other devices.

The additional options available make it easier than ever to find your devices. Users can invite family members in the Samsung Find app to view the location or activate ringing noises to help track down shared devices. To give yourself the best chance of locating lost devices with Samsung Find, you can extend the battery life by remotely turning on power saving mode.

Settings > Security and privacy > Lost device protection

With Galaxy, you’re empowered to stay in complete control of your device – even when it’s not physically with you.

Advanced Intelligence settings:

As an industry-leading global manufacturer, Samsung is focused on enhancing the device experience through dedicated AI features while prioritizing privacy in the era of AI. Many of our Galaxy AI features use on-device data processing which means sensitive information stays with you and you alone. For those features that do require processing in the cloud or external servers, we make sure your data is protected with strict policies.

In a world of AI-enhanced experiences, we know that not everyone wants to use cloud-based AI. For some, keeping data on-device is a priority. So, while innovation is important to us, we believe it’s just as, if not more important that we continue to empower our users with the choice over their own experience.

That choice is yours with our Advanced Intelligence settings.¹ Built into our Galaxy AI-supported devices, these settings let you decide how much you allow your data to enhance AI experiences and whether you want to allow online processing for full AI functionality.

To access the settings, open Settings and select Advanced features, then Advanced Intelligence. Here, you’ll see the option to “Process data only on the device.”

Settings > Advanced features > Advanced Intelligence

We’re still just as committed to providing our users with transparency, choice and control over their devices in this epic new world. It’s all up to you, and it’s never been easier to see and understand what happens to your data at all times.

Your privacy, secured with Galaxy.

¹Availability may vary by device model, OS and/or market.

Our phones are constantly in our hands, but have you considered how often they get into the hands of others? Whether it’s entertaining a child, showing something funny to a friend, or sending it in for repair; we hand over our precious devices surprisingly often. Each time we do that, we risk allowing too much access. It’s an invasion of privacy, waiting to happen.

With Pin App and Maintenance Mode, you don’t have to worry about anyone snooping around. You get to decide what people can and can’t see, no matter who’s got their hands on your device. It’s like having a personal bouncer for your phone.

Pin App:

There’s a feeling you get when you hand over your phone to show somebody some pictures. It could be your holiday snaps, or just something funny you saved. But then they accidentally open another app and now they see a photo or message, or anything else you didn’t intend to show them. It’s a horrifying moment, but Pin App can stop that from happening again.

Think of Pin App like a personal bouncer for your apps, stopping people from getting into where they’re not welcome. Instead, it keeps them exactly where they’re supposed to be – in the app you’ve pinned – and nowhere else.

Pin App also acts as a Do Not Disturb sign, preventing awkward pop-up notifications that risk showing sensitive information when all you wanted to do was to share a funny social media post.

Setting up Pin App is quick and easy. Simply go to your Settings, then into Security and Privacy. Next, scroll down and find More Security Settings, and you can toggle the switch for Pin App on or tap on the text to view more settings. For extra security, you can choose ‘Ask for PIN before unpinning’, so whoever has your phone will need a password to get out of the pinned application.

Then, open the app you want to pin. Tap the Recents button (or swipe up and hold if you’re using swipe gestures) then tap the icon above the app. Select the ‘Pin this app’ option, and that’s it.

Settings > Security and privacy > More security settings > Pin app

Maintenance Mode:

Many of us at some point during the lifecycle of our device, will find ourselves submitting our phone to a third-party repair service for that cracked screen or that damaged charging port. More often than not, we need to send our device away for a period of time to have the repair done which brings its own risks including the ability of third parties to access private information on our devices.

Even the most careful among us can’t avoid accidents. When you send your phone away to get that cracked screen or damaged charging port fixed, you’ve got no idea who can access your data.

This is where Samsung’s Maintenance Mode can be used¹. It is specifically designed to protect and hide your personal data from being accessed when your device leaves your hands and is sent away for any type of repair.

When you activate Maintenance Mode, you can set up a distinct user profile, ensuring your primary account and data remain private. This mode can be activated either through the device’s Settings, where you tap Device Care before navigating to and tapping Maintenance Mode; or can be activated through the Samsung Members app.

Once Maintenance Mode has been turned on, you can conceal all your personal data including photos, videos, contacts and messages and prevent any unauthorized access. It also ensures that no data is erased by accident from your device, for instance, by a repair service centre.² If you do need to send your device away for those repair activities, you can also ensure that those accessing it will only have access to basic device features that enable them to perform the necessary service diagnosis.

Settings > Device care > Maintenance mode

Secure Folder:

Samsung Knox provides layers of security and privacy, not only to protect users but also to give them choice in what they want to secure. For those who want to keep their most personal information separate and safe, there’s Secure Folder.

It’s a container that locks away your data so it cannot be accessed through your phone’s regular storage. It can hold your most private data such as calendar schedules and contact information, as well as notes, photos, videos, files and even apps. You can even encrypt the Secure Folder to keep your apps and data even more locked down until the next time you open the folder.

You can find Secure Folder in your apps. The first time you open it, you’ll have to set your lock type to either a PIN, pattern, or password. In addition to these, you can also add fingerprint access – and then you’re good to go. Anything you create within the Secure Folder will be automatically stored here, but you can also move data here any time.

For example, if you want to keep a copy of your driver’s license, you can take a photo of it using the Camera app within Secure Folder, or you can pick a photo in your Gallery, tap the options menu (the three dots), and then select ‘Move to Secure Folder’.

There are a lot of things you can’t control, but when it comes to your privacy, Samsung wants to give you as much control as possible. With Pin App, Maintenance Mode and Secure Folder, you’ve got that extra reassurance against prying eyes.

Settings > Security and privacy > More security settings > Secure Folder

¹ Availability may vary by market and model.
² As a precautionary measure, users are encouraged to back up any personal data before activating Maintenance Mode.

Mobile phones have now become our daily companions – from helping us accomplish everyday tasks, to watching videos, playing mobile games, and sharing content as a way to connect with people. Thus, making it essential for our devices to have advanced security features to protect our data and ensure a worry-free mobile experience. 

Samsung is giving us a galaxy of reasons to truly enjoy the things we love to do with our phones by expanding its Security Solutions to its Galaxy A Series mobile devices, giving even better protection for your personal and highly sensitive information as you go along your day-to-day living in this digital age.

Protect Important Data with Knox Vault Awesome Features

Knox Vault is a hardware-based security solution with its own processor, memory, and non-volatile secure storage developed by Samsung to protect the users’ highly sensitive data such as passwords and biometrics. It is an isolated, tamper-proof, and secure subsystem with a good interface meant to provide strong security measures that protects Samsung  devices from  firmware attacks.

Mobile devices are prone to malicious attacks that can compromise and access highly personal data. Knox Vault is tested to provide protection from any software and hardware attacks such as physical manipulation, forced information leakage, side-channel attack, and fault injection. 

As one of its features, Attestation Key is a security program that is designed to protect the users’ personal information in case the device is lost or stolen and is detected to be manipulated by an unauthorized malicious user. It prevents unauthorized actors from accessing important systems like Samsung Pay, Samsung Pass, and Knox Services. 

Speaking of security, Weaver, another feature for password authentication, ensures users that their data and secrets are protected as the binary exponential back-off algorithm is automatically triggered to keep data from being read and measured if the proper key is not provided. 

A Galaxy of Expanded Protection

Knox Vault is recognized in 31 countries globally through the Common Criteria Recognition Agreement (CCRA), a framework for evaluating security products. Its components are evaluated by an independent third party, Common Criteria Testing Laboratory (CCTL) and underwent requirements evaluation in the Security IC Platform Protection Profile with Augmentation Packages at EAL4+ and EAL5+ assurance requirements. 

Security paired with awesome entertainment

Enjoy your favorite series worry-free and clearly with the Samsung Galaxy A15 5G and A25 5G series, featuring a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with Vision Booster for optimal visibility. These phones also boast a speedy 25W charging battery, ensuring all-day use. Elevate your style with the Galaxy A25 5G starting at P15,990 (6GB+128GB) and P18,990 (8GB+256GB), while the sleek Galaxy A15 begins at P9,990 for LTE and P10,990 for 5G.

More awesome is also coming in your way this March as Samsung is gearing to kick-start an amazing summer! For more information, follow us at Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter).

To know more about Samsung’s latest offerings, visit www.samsung.com/ph/.

Image for illustration purposes.

The smartphone has become the centre of how we work, live and play. For many, it has even become the only thing that we bring out of the home, replacing our laptops, wallets and even house keys.

While we are generally more mindful today of the dangers posed by hackers to our laptops and computers, we also need to recognize that smartphones are prone to cyberattacks as well. Hackers go where the crowds are and right now, that’s mobile devices. That’s why it’s never been more important to stay safe, and why we’re constantly innovating to protect you and your data against emerging threats.

The billions of smartphones around the world are filled with sensitive personal and business data, providing infinite opportunities for hackers to steal and sell private information. In fact, cybersecurity firm IronNet reported that cyberattacks have increased 168% between May 2020 and May 2021, with attacks on smartphones becoming one of the biggest cybersecurity threats in the Asia Pacific region.

Samsung is committed to keeping users safe and secure, with Samsung Knox providing true end-to-end protection throughout the entire lifecycle of your device. In this article, we explore five potential cyberattack scenarios that could happen when the safety of your device is compromised – and explain how Samsung Knox protects you from these threats, in line with our ethos of placing security at the heart of every decision we make.

Cyberattack Scenario 1: Unauthorized backdoor access

Outside of Samsung, developers routinely create software ‘backdoors’ for apps and even mobile OSes so that they can gain easy access for troubleshooting purposes. However, hackers are able to discover these backdoors, which usually bypass any or all cybersecurity measures on the device in question.

To prevent unauthorized backdoor access, do not download unofficial or unauthorized apps. Downloading software other than what the manufacturer originally installed to gain full access to the device’s operating system could also introduce malware or spyware that leads to unauthorized backdoor access.

How Samsung protects you against this threat: At Samsung, we design, create, and validate every computer chip, every piece of wiring, and every hardware component before using them to manufacture our smart devices in highly secure factories around the world. This chip-up approach gives us control over design, manufacturing and assembly, ensuring a secure supply chain that prevents unauthorized backdoor access in our devices – resulting in an end product that our users can trust completely.

Cyberattack Scenario 2: Compromised, weak, or re-used passwords

As users continue to create new accounts for digital services, ranging from telehealth services to new ride-hailing and e-commerce platforms, they provide more avenues for hackers to exploit.

As an August 2021 survey from IBM¹ found, 86% of consumers in Asia Pacific admit that they re-use the same credentials across multiple online accounts. This is a poor data privacy habit – just one attack could leave a user’s entire internet footprint vulnerable to hackers.

How Samsung protects you against this threat: Samsung’s devices² are equipped with innovative biometric authentication technology, such as Ultrasonic Fingerprint, so that access to your data can be protected even if your device is lost or stolen. Known as Samsung Pass³, this biometric authentication tool also lets users easily access log-in credentials without the need to remember countless usernames and passwords⁴! To take data protection to the next level, we have also equipped our devices with Knox Vault, a secure processor that operates independently from the main CPU. Knox Vault securely isolates your biometrics data from the rest of your phone, so no one can get their hands on your data.

Cyberattack Scenario 3: Free Wi-Fi may not be so free after all

Free Wi-Fi hotspots are a boon for everyone who needs access to the Internet on their mobile devices for work or play. However, public Wi-Fi services provide an opportunity for hackers to steal data, as the data that you send across the web – such as credit card information for online purchases – might first pass through the hands of a hacker via a public Wi-Fi network.

How Samsung protects you against this threat:For everyday browsing, Secure Wi-Fi⁵ encrypts outgoing internet traffic and disables tracking apps and websites. It allows you to browse the internet safely on public wireless connections without fear of security breaches⁶.

Cyberattack Scenario 4: Phishing attacks compromising sensitive data

Phishing is a type of attack in which cyber criminals trick victims into handing over sensitive information or installing malware⁷, disguised as links, attachments, or even legitimate apps, on their devices.

Once hackers have access to your sensitive information, they could use it to demand a ransom from you, steal your personal information, carry out other vices, or make purchases with your credit card information, for instance.

How Samsung protects you against this threat: Device Protection in Samsung Device Care continuously scans your device for malware or suspicious activity, and alerts you when you mistakenly install malicious apps through detection via the McAfee protection.

Additionally, the Samsung Secure Folder keeps data secure, and isolates problematic apps within the folder to keep apps away from users’ personal information.

Meanwhile, when you’re paying for purchases with Samsung Pay⁸ on your mobile device, your card information is encrypted and completely isolated to protect it at all times.

Cyberattack Scenario 5: Zero-day vulnerability

As hackers and cyber attackers are constantly trying to hack into devices, they are always on the lookout for zero-day vulnerabilities. A zero-day vulnerability is a vulnerability in a system or device that has been discovered but is not yet patched. This can be particularly dangerous as cybercriminals target the flaws in a system before developers or the public are aware it even exists.

How Samsung protects you against this threat: Samsung Knox offers real time protection, always actively protecting your devices against data attacks or malware. This means that unauthorized attempts to access or modify your phone’s core are blocked in real time.

When users reboot their Samsung smartphone, Secure Boot is activated to detect any unauthorized software and block attempts to compromise the device through multi-layered, defense-grade⁹ security. If the smartphone is booted in an unapproved state, Samsung Knox will automatically lock up apps containing sensitive data such as Samsung Pay, Samsung Pass, Secure Folder or Samsung Health.

Looking ahead to a more secure future

The smartphone has become a key part of our digital lives, whether from home, at the classroom, or even in the office. With new cyber threat vectors continuously putting us at risk, we need to stay vigilant and play an active role in keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe in this digital world.

Security does not just stop at smartphones for Samsung, as Knox protection also extends to the smart appliances in Samsung’s portfolio for an additional layer of protection. This means that your Samsung smart appliances are protected and secured, whether you are mirroring the video you are watching on your Galaxy device with the SmartView app¹⁰ to the screen on your Family Hub, or using the AI function on your AI EcoBubble washing machine to calibrate optimal wash settings.

As a Samsung user, you can be assured that you have a digital partner committed to world-class security and privacy standards – keeping you safe while you work, study, and play.

[1] IBM Security: IBM Consumer Survey: Security Side Effects of the Pandemic: https://filecache.mediaroom.com/mr5mr_ibmnews/191177/Pandemic%20Security%20Side%20Effects%20Global%20Survey_IBM%20Analysis.pdf

[2] Biometric authentication feature availability may vary by device.

[3] The available functions, features, and compatible applications for Samsung Pass may vary by country due to differing regulatory and legal environments.

[4] As a best practice, consumers are still advised to input complex passwords to secure their login credentials.

[5] Secure Wi-Fi feature availability may vary depending on country, carrier, or network environment and may not be supported on all Samsung mobile devices. Fees may apply depending on Secure Wi-Fi usage.

[6] As a best practice, avoid connecting to unknown Wi-Fi hotspots and always keep the Wi-Fi network at home secured with complex and long passwords.

[7] https://www.itgovernance.co.uk/phishing

[8] Availability of Samsung Pay may vary by device, bank, issuer, and country.

[9] Knox received more accreditations than any other mobile device manufacturer, including STIG approval from the US Defense Information Systems Agency for use in DoD networks in 2013 and certifications from the US Department of Defense, the UK’s NCSC and ANSSI in France.

[10] Compatible with all major apps on Samsung Galaxy S6 models or later, running Android 8.1 or higher.