Jerry Park leads Samsung’s global B2B mobile initiatives, overseeing enterprise-focused devices, platforms and services for business customers worldwide.

Today’s world is one of unprecedented innovation and rapidly evolving technology. It’s an era of endless possibilities, coupled with a new set of risks for security and privacy. At Samsung Electronics, we recognise that as we enter these uncharted territories, we must be prepared for potential threats that may arise. That’s why we stay deeply attuned to the ever-changing security landscape and champion a dynamic approach to enterprise security.

The cybersecurity threats of today affect everyone, from consumers to businesses. Enterprise device fleets must be resilient against attacks of all kinds — from suspicious URLs, insider employee threats and malware, to emerging risks associated with AI usage in the workplace, including prompt injection and sensitive data leaks. As a growing number of employees across industries — from corporate offices to the frontlines — use devices to access enterprise networks and resources, these threats not only present significant security risks but may also lead to a substantial financial toll on businesses.

Enterprise security incidents can arise across operations. However, the International Data Corporation (IDC)^[1] found that an overwhelming 70 percent of successful breaches originate from endpoints — the devices that connect to networks like phones, laptops and tablets. Unfortunately, in today’s security operations landscape, IT administrators have much less visibility into mobile devices compared to PCs and servers. With mobile devices now being the most common method of employee network access, this has to change. A systematic, comprehensive approach is critical to ensuring seamless mobile capabilities and uncompromising protection. At Samsung, we’re setting a new standard for mobile enterprise security by committing to a collaborative Zero Trust strategy for endpoints in partnership with market leaders.

Core Principles for Zero Trust Endpoint Security

Samsung’s legacy of innovation is built upon our deep understanding of users. We’re constantly listening to feedback from consumers and businesses, anticipating the evolution of mobile technology. This is what enables us to pioneer industry-first solutions for consumers and businesses alike. As the Head of the Global Mobile B2B Team, I’m especially proud of how we’ve led the way in critical areas that deliver value to enterprises across the board. From advancing hardware-backed device attestation and threat detection to fully embracing the security principles of Zero Trust, we are constantly striving to provide our customers with mobile devices and solutions that exceed their security requirements.

Zero Trust is a security framework that replaces implicit trust with explicit trust by continuously assessing security posture, risk and trust levels based on context. The current security solutions market is dominated by network-centric Zero Trust solutions that focus on securing access at the network edge. Unfortunately, this approach by itself neglects a critical blind spot: the endpoint. Endpoints have the largest attack surface and are the most challenging IT assets to protect against cyberattacks. In most cases, they are the most vulnerable points in an organisation’s IT ecosystem.

Zero Trust principles for endpoints, when realised correctly, ensure that access requests from endpoints are handled based on context that correlates with the device’s security posture and the user’s needs, and are continuously verified in real time. Although there is no definitive list of core principles behind Zero Trust endpoint protection, the following principles are the most commonly adopted:

• “Never trust, always verify” approach for devices: Devices should no longer be implicitly trusted just because they are within the network boundary. Instead, each device needs to prove its trustworthiness before being granted access.
• Continuous risk assessment and enforcement: Endpoint protection must be agile and ready to adapt to constantly changing risk conditions. This means continuously evaluating context — such as location, time of access and the device’s security posture — and dynamically adjusting security policies accordingly. Suspicious activity needs to be addressed through enforcement actions such as access restrictions or complete isolation.
• Restricted privileges and narrowly scoped access: Endpoints must enforce access control in real time based on context while ensuring privileges are granted dynamically with a narrow scope.
• Incorporation of user identity, device posture and behavioural signals: A Zero Trust-compliant solution needs to make granular and informed trust decisions to enforce tight access controls. To enable such decisions, Zero Trust’s continuous evaluation of context integrates user identity, device posture and behavioural signals.

While the Zero Trust security strategy is growing in adoption, Samsung is fully embracing it. By doing so, we are helping to protect the most vulnerable points in an organisation’s IT landscape. Risks related to endpoint security are constantly increasing as cloud-based applications, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs and remote work prevail in the modern workplace environment. Samsung recognises the critical nature of this problem and is proactively addressing it in collaboration with partners.

Innovation and Collaboration for Security at Every Level

How does this work in practice? From the hardware level and all the way to the operating system and secure interface, Zero Trust security principles are built into the architecture of Samsung Galaxy devices, enhancing protection at every layer while intuitively integrating with a business’s existing security infrastructure. Together, these practices empower enterprises to administer proper threat detection and response securely and reliably.

At Samsung, we recognise that security is a collective effort. It is only through open collaboration with partners that we can bring the most advanced solutions to our customers. In my time at Samsung, we’ve made extensive strides in bringing forth versatile, optimised and secure solutions^[2] for enterprises of all kinds.

In 2024, we integrated Samsung Knox — our defence-grade, multilayer security management platform — with Cisco Secure Access, an innovative Security Service Edge solution. This collaboration delivers a secure and flexible employee access experience, enabling organisations to verify user identity, device posture and context before granting access.

We also have a strong partnership with Microsoft, defined by a shared vision of reimagining mobile device security for business customers. The first step of this strategic plan began in 2023, when we integrated Samsung Knox with Microsoft Intune, creating the industry’s first on-device mobile hardware-backed device attestation solution that works equally well on both company and personal devices. This solution is now enabled by default in all new Android App Protection Policies, empowering organisations to bolster the security posture of all Samsung devices in their fleet. In yet another step forward in our partnership with Microsoft, Samsung has become the industry’s first mobile manufacturer to offer a direct-to-security operations centre (SOC) connector. This was achieved through the integration of Knox Asset Intelligence^[3] and Microsoft Sentinel, a scalable, cloud-native security information and event management (SIEM) solution. This integration delivers unprecedented visibility into mobile security threats, providing centralised monitoring and protection across enterprise device fleets.

Working together with partners, Samsung is addressing key challenges in multiple areas — securing mobile devices, minimising damage from potential attacks and empowering employees to work efficiently and effectively without security concerns getting in their way.

Holistic Security for Enhanced Privacy

We’re constantly innovating, refining and developing Samsung Knox solutions in order to bring our customers enhanced control, greater transparency and better protection against cyber threats.

By embodying Zero Trust as a core pillar of Samsung Knox, every measure is being taken to help secure mobile devices and data. At the same time, Samsung is breaking new ground with first-to-market solutions by constantly keeping a pulse on the ever-changing threat landscape.

As threats become increasingly complex with AI and hyperconnectivity taking centre stage, security and privacy are more important now than ever before. Today’s business landscape is constantly being threatened by an increasing volume of cyberattacks that aim to exploit IT vulnerabilities, with mobile devices and other endpoints quickly becoming prime targets.

That’s why Samsung is working with market-leading companies to provide security solutions that work seamlessly with existing infrastructure, offering true end-to-end protection. These collaborative solutions are a testament to our commitment to not only adhere to industry standards but to also drive their continued development when it comes to Zero Trust endpoint security. This is just the beginning.

To learn more about Samsung Knox’s approach to mobile security, visit samsungknox.com.

_{^[1] The Hacker News, “10 Critical Endpoint Security Tips You Should Know,” April 26, 2024 (reporting IDC data)}

_{^[2] Cisco Secure Access, Microsoft Intune and Microsoft Sentinel are third-party solutions and paid offerings.}

_{^[3] Knox Asset Intelligence is a paid offering available through Knox Suite Plans.}

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced the first step in a plan to reimagine mobile device security for business customers in partnership with Microsoft. This collaboration has led to the industry’s first on-device, mobile hardware-backed device attestation solution that works equally well on both company and personally owned devices.

Device attestation can help ensure a device’s identity and health, verifying that it has not been compromised. On-device, mobile hardware-backed device attestation — available on Samsung Galaxy^[1] devices and combined with protection from Microsoft Intune — now adds enhanced security and flexibility. For enterprises, this is an extra layer of protection against compromised devices falsely claiming to be known and healthy, gaining access to sensitive corporate data. Additionally, organizations can now enable employees to bring their own device (BYOD) to work with the confidence that they are protected with the same level of security as company owned devices. For employees, this means added flexibility for their personal Galaxy devices to safely access their work environment.

In a rapidly evolving landscape with changing work habits and increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, Zero Trust is a security model based on three principles: always assume breach, verify explicitly and provide least privilege access. Implementation of Zero Trust has become mandated by regulated industries and public sector customers, such as the United States government.^[2] This requires a new approach for enforcing security end-to-end, from apps to the network and the device itself, regardless of device ownership and enrollment.

Together, Samsung and Microsoft are uniquely positioned to enable this. Samsung is the industry leader for global smartphones. The Samsung Knox security platform is 10 years old. In that time, Samsung Knox has been activated on more than a billion Samsung Galaxy devices. That’s more than 30,000 businesses in 110 markets relying on Samsung Knox to protect their devices from cyberattacks. Microsoft is the industry leader in unified endpoint management software market share^[3] and delivers end-to-end cross-cloud, cross-platform security solutions, which integrate different categories across security, compliance, identity, device management and privacy, informed by more than 65 trillion threat signals each day.^[4] With this partnership, the first mobile hardware-backed device attestation bridges the consumer and the world of work, allowing people to safely bring their personal devices to work.

“Samsung is committed to meaningful innovations that are as secure as they are versatile and optimized,” said KC Choi, EVP and Head of Global Mobile B2B Team, MX Business at Samsung Electronics. “As work habits evolve and people are working from virtually anywhere on any device, we are paving the way for the future of enterprise device security and democratizing the means for businesses to better protect their information.”

Flexibility for Enterprises and End Users

For enterprise IT managers, mobile hardware-backed device attestation with Intune provides strong protection for corporate needs without impacting the user experience. With this integration, even highly regulated organizations can adopt a BYOD policy with this additional layer of protection on the Samsung devices widely used by consumers and professionals for work. This increases worker productivity, provides better experiences for users, and simplifies administration.

This joint Samsung-Microsoft solution works on both managed and unmanaged devices regardless of ownership.^[5] Traditional device attestation mainly works on managed devices as it is server-based and requires network connectivity, meaning the entire device has to be enrolled into the corporate system.

With mobile hardware-backed attestation, enterprises can verify a device’s integrity and allow access to the corporate system whether it is managed or unmanaged. The user experience is also streamlined to enable employees to bring their personal devices to work and safely access the corporate system without extra security steps.

“Samsung’s industry-leading hardware and software solutions, coupled with the power of the Microsoft Cloud and Intune, uniquely position us to empower defenders with end-to-end capabilities to help stop sophisticated bad actors and improve Zero Trust security posture,” said Michael Wallent, CVP Microsoft Security – Management. “With this partnership, we are committed to continuous innovation that will ensure the most security-minded organizations have the best possible mobile device protection.”

For further details, please refer to https://aka.ms/KnoxIntuneAttestation.

^[1] Supported on select Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets, including “Security by Knox” devices with Android OS 10 or later. To be eligible, devices must have run Android OS 9 or later at time of launch.

^[2] “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” Executive Order No. 14028, 86 Fed. Reg. 26633 (May 17, 2021) https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/05/12/executive-order-on-improving-the-nations-cybersecurity/ and Young, Shalanda D. “Moving the U.S. Government Toward Zero Trust Cybersecurity Principles,” White House, Memo No. M-22-09, January 26, 2022 https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/M-22-09.pdf

^[3] Source: Worldwide Unified Endpoint Management Software Market Shares, 2022: A Tactical Management Tool Evolves into Strategic Data Platform – Printer-friendly – US50467223 (idc.com)

^[4] Source: Microsoft earnings release FY22 Q2. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/earnings/FY-2022-Q2/press-release-webcast

^[5] Mobile hardware-backed device attestation, enabled by Samsung Knox hardware and Microsoft Intune app policies, is compatible with both Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Mobile Application Management (MAM) systems, for use on company-owned devices as well as personally-owned devices.