JOIN USDid you know Samsung Galaxy S20 series has super security data chip?
World's leading smartphone-maker Samsung held a flashy gala event Galaxy Unpacked 2020 in San Francisco to unveil the new flagship Galaxy S20 series. It went on great length to elaborate the device's beefed-up configuration in terms of battery, processor and the superspace zoom capabilities of the camera. However, South Korean company for reasons unknown did not mention about the crucial security chip of the Galaxy S20 series.
Now, Samsung in a separate press note has revealed that it has incorporated a state-of-the-art data security chip (S3K250AF) inside all the three models-- Galaxy S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra. It is said to have a Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level (CC EAL) 5+ certified Secure Element (SE) turnkey solution for mobile devices.
Basically, the data security chip (S3K250AF) will store critical information such as fingerprint impressions, facial recognition data points and passwords of the user's online accounts including banking credentials.
Though all phones be it iOS-powered iPhones and Android mobiles (Google Play Protect) come with malware detection system on App Store and Google Play stores, there are highly trained hackers in the wild, who are capable of hoodwinking naive users to install apps from third-party stores or lure them to a compromised websites to inject trojans into the phone to steal financial credentials and sensitive personal information.
To overcome this situation, Apple introduced dedicated space dubbed as Secure Enclave inside the iPhones (5s and later models) to store only the Touch ID, FaceID details and other sensitive details. Even Google too has Titan M (with Pixel 3 series in 2018) for the same purpose.
Now, Samsung's Secure Element (SE) data chipset will perform the same duty for the Galaxy S20 series. This will be the norm for devices launching in the future. It goes without saying that the security will be enhanced with every new generation model launch.
Samsung Secure Element chipset: All you need to know
The new The S3K250AF-based SE chipset comes with a microcontroller, advanced hardware-level protection and an optimized secure OS. With a CC EAL 5+ certified-hardware, it said to be the highest level received by a mobile component.
Additionally, it comes with a dedicated protection software and with this, SE data chip ensures top-notch security assurance on mobile devices. This is the second layer of security, which acts as a deterrent for bad actors to try doing reverse engineering or laser attacks or any sophisticated technique to breach the firewall to access or copy stored confidential data.
Samsung's SE solution is also intuitive to detect failed attempts and prevent replay attacks by accepting only the latest authentication request as a valid one.
"From checking emails and making online payments to replacing house keys and airplane tickets, smart devices continue to offer more applications that enforce stronger security requirements. Samsung’s new turnkey solution is a dedicated tamper-resistant strongbox that securely stores users’ confidential and cryptographic data such as pin numbers, passwords and even crypto-currency credentials separate from the typical mobile memory such as embedded Universal Flash Storage (eUFS)," Samsung said.
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