Android devices get FIPS certification

[trelawrence]

http://www.electronista.com/articles...ensitive.data/

Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy SII.

Samsung has announced that its Galaxy S II smartphone, Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi edition and Galaxy Tab 10.1 4G LTE have received Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2 (FIPS) certification from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The certification means that government agencies and regulated industries, such as financial and health care institutions, can use the global version of the devices to handle certain types of secure data. Samsung has also given the devices its own proprietary SAFE (Samsung Approved for Enterprise) enterprise security certification.

FIPS is a federal security and interoperability standard. Compliance reassures certified companies that they can collect, transfer, share and release sensitive but unclassified (SBU) information securely. Samsung's certification applies specifically to transmissions over Verizon's wireless network.

Samsung's SAFE certification assures users that the devices have been configured specifically to meet the company's own security criteria for enterprise use. This includes providing support for Microsoft Exchange device management policies, mobile device management, on-device encryption, and VPN access.

Android has typically had little traction in the enterprise, in part as it was focused more on everyday users rather than corporate buyers. Motorola has usually been one of the few to push the enterprise through custom apps, but it hasn't seen much take-up in practice.



Read more: http://www.electronista.com/articles...#ixzz1jDCOfFrN.

[howarmat]

wow, i always thought iOS would be next

[trelawrence]

Originally Posted by howarmat

wow, i always thought iOS would be next

I know... I read somewhere else that they are pretty close, but there is a technical issue holding it up.

[Rickroller]

Good to see Doesn't mean anything to me personally as a non-enterprise consumer..but it's nice to see them moving forward with the security sector. And even better to see it on a mainstream device, and not on some outdated hardware.

[avt123]

Lol how the does the SGS 2 have FIPS certification but iOS doesn't? Since when was Android (consumer version) more secure than iOS?

[teknishun]

Originally Posted by avt123

Since when was Android (consumer version) more secure than iOS?

Well, let's see... Samsung made the announcement on January 11th, so my guess (and it's just a guess) would be sometime before that.

[avt123]

Originally Posted by teknishun

Well, let's see... Samsung made the announcement on January 11th, so my guess (and it's just a guess) would be sometime before that.

It still makes no sense. Why is it only the SGS2? What has Samsung done specifically to the SGS2?

iOS has been trying to get in for years, same with Android and only government modified versions of Android make it.

I don't understand how a device that can be rooted and modified easily by the end user can make FIPS certification. Same with why I thought iOS wasn't making it due tot he fact it can't be locked down as easily as a BB and it can be jailbroken.

[JD914]

Even though this is good news FIPS is something that BB enthusiasts get all jolly about. Why? Because any BB device that gets FIPS certified keep Blackberry relevant even though it's relevance is becoming more faint as other non BB devices receive this certification. Regardless, it's good to see devices other than BB get this certification.

[Rickroller]

Originally Posted by avt123

It still makes no sense. Why is it only the SGS2? What has Samsung done specifically to the SGS2?

iOS has been trying to get in for years, same with Android and only government modified versions of Android make it.

I don't understand how a device that can be rooted and modified easily by the end user can make FIPS certification. Same with why I thought iOS wasn't making it due tot he fact it can't be locked down as easily as a BB and it can be jailbroken.

I think there must be more to it, as I highly doubt the "consumer" version of the SGSII would get clearance. But we've heard in the past about a secure "kernel" that Android has been working on, and perhaps this is the result of it. Perhaps by simply flashing the secure kernel on the phone, it enters it into a lockdown mode of some sort.

Of course, i'm merely speculating, as my overall knowledge of kernels and whatnot is admittedly weak.

[trelawrence]

Yep, I speculate that some sort of lockdown has to be achieved at the kernel level as well.

[KQ9]

I know right, makes no sense :s. I mean, Samsung didn't even bother to lock the bootloader.

[trelawrence]

I doubt that these are "regular" Samsung devices.

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[avt123]

Originally Posted by Rickroller

I think there must be more to it, as I highly doubt the "consumer" version of the SGSII would get clearance. But we've heard in the past about a secure "kernel" that Android has been working on, and perhaps this is the result of it. Perhaps by simply flashing the secure kernel on the phone, it enters it into a lockdown mode of some sort.

Of course, i'm merely speculating, as my overall knowledge of kernels and whatnot is admittedly weak.

Exactly. There has to be more to it.