Samsung Knox Security: What Is It and How Does It Work?

Samsung Knox is a security program offered by Samsung Android devices to keep your business and personal data separate and secure.

Samsung users are well-known for Knox security. If you don’t know about Samsung Knox security, today’s article will help you to know it, its importance of it, and how it works.

What is Samsung Knox Security?

Knox security is a multi-layered platform that is built into both the hardware and software of the latest Samsung devices. Knox constantly validates the device’s integrity through a series of security checks that begin at the platform level.

Later, it extends to the operating system and detects any tampering to ensure your data is always secure.

Knox security was debuted in 2013 and used as Samsung’s proprietary defense-grade mobile security system in Galaxy devices.

Since its launch, Samsung claims the Knox platform has secured over one billion Galaxy devices, including smartphones, tablets, and wearables.

The most basic function of Samsung Knox is to protect sensitive data such as passwords, PINs, fingerprints, and face unlock.

This security is built into the pre-installed Samsung apps on your Galaxy devices, such as Secure Folder, Samsung Health, Samsung Pay, and Samsung Pass. It also protects your device from malware, malicious apps, and intrusion.

Why Samsung Knox is Important?

Samsung’s Knox helps businesses ensure that employees’ devices have separate personal and business data environments, preventing sensitive company information from being lost or stolen.

To summarize, what you do on your phone in your personal space cannot be sent or pushed to the business layer, and vice versa, to ensure that data is secure and not leaked out. Samsung Knox consists of three parts:

  • Hardware (Samsung Knox-compatible devices)
  • Software (My Knox, found on the Google Play Store)
  • Service (Knox-compatible mobile management server)
Samsung Knox Security

Another crucial feature of Samsung Knox is its integration with Android for Work. Samsung Knox improves Android security for Work Profiles by implementing changes such as:

  • Kernel Security in Real Time
  • DM-Verity malware validates
  • Trusted Boot.

How Does the Knox Security Works?

TrustZone is a secure environment built into the chip’s CPU that serves as the foundation for overall system security. Computer resources are divided into two categories: secure and normal. Brands build their security solutions using the TrustZone architecture.

It is used by Samsung Knox to create its Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), which ensures that information inside the TEE cannot be replaced or modified by unauthorized entities. TEE’s security was bolstered by Samsung’s new Knox Vault security platform.

It’s a hardware-based security system with a different physical processor and memory unit than the ones in your phone.

Although TrustZone operates independently, it is insecure because it shares the Android OS’s main CPU and memory.

That is why Knox Vault physically separates the secure and normal worlds, allowing it to process and store your biometrics, passwords, and other data separately.

Knox for Businesses

Knox in a business environment is a strong solution that allows the office’s IT administrator to configure each employee’s smartphone from a single location. You need to create a profile and manage the devices through a cloud-based Knox dashboard.

The company-based Knox smartphones can include profiles for corporate:

  • Wi-Fi,
  • APN,
  • Bootup Animations,
  • Home screen customizations,
  • Secure Folders, and much more.

Knox for Individuals

Apart from the business environment, Knox can also be used by individuals as a complete personal device.

Every smartphone user today uses banking and wallet apps in addition to other data-sensitive private apps. Financial, medical, and government data is kept secure.

For example, when you use Samsung Pay, Knox security ensures that your card information is always encrypted and stored in a separate and secure data vault.

Knox secures and isolates your personal and private data using Secure Folder.

When Does Knox Security Work?

Knox not only works when your device is turned on, but it also protects it when it boots and when it is turned off.

All of your data is encrypted by default, even when your device is turned off. The encryption key is stored in the device chipset’s TrustZone, a secure area.

Samsung Knox Security

Knox platform checks for authorized (unrooted) firmware and device software integrity during boot-up.

The kernel is constantly monitored and protected during runtime. Security-sensitive apps are disabled if they are compromised.

Why Does Samsung Knox Matter?

The NSA approved Knox in 2014, breaking the NSA’s long-standing BlackBerry-only policy and effectively declaring Knox-enabled Samsung devices completely fit for government work.

As a result, Samsung devices can be considered one of the most secure after BlackBerry.

With Samsung Knox, you get an extra layer of encryption when you use Knox-enabled email, messaging, and internet searches, as well as when you take pictures with the camera.

This is especially important as more companies allow BYOD; when users bring their own devices to work, those devices must be as secure as possible.

Which Samsung Devices have Knox Security and How to Check?

Numerous Samsung devices support Knox. Samsung’s smartphones, tablets, and watches are all supported.

To see if your Galaxy device has Knox security:

  • Navigate to Settings > About phone > Software information.

Suppose, you don’t find any option titled Knox version in the menu, then your phone does not have it.

If you want to be sure, look at the list of Samsung Knox-protected devices. If you have it, make sure you have the most recent Knox version, which is Knox 3.8 at the time of writing. Knox is automatically updated when a new software update is downloaded.

Limitations of Samsung Knox Security

  • Knox Customization is a set of tools and services that enables businesses to customise and deploy end-to-end mobile solutions.
  • The Knox Customization SDK can be used to create devices tailored to specific vertical markets.
  • The Knox Customization SDK enables the creation of an app that secures Samsung Android phones.
  • The Knox Customization SDK with the Knox Standard SDK enables smartphones to be further configured and customized for specific applications.
  • Knox is used in a variety of settings and domains where the security of mission-critical or sensitive data is critical, including the BFSI sector, customer eKYC authentication, education, agriculture, and a variety of government departments.
  • You won’t get Knox Security in lower-end smartphones. As all the Samsung devices are running on One UI, integrating Knox hardware costs extra. So, Samsung offers Knox Security on their high-end products with a starting price of Rs. 25000
  • Mobile security systems, like your body’s immune system, grow and become stronger over time. Building a security platform is an ongoing work in progress because attackers are constantly devising new ways to circumvent it. With each new update, Knox becomes more secure, less buggy, and capable of detecting threats.

Final Thoughts

Samsung Knox is one of the toughest security platforms for Android Phones ever built. You can keep your sensitive data securely and safely on Knox-protected Galaxy devices.

That’s all about Samsung Knox Security. We hope you can acquire knowledge from this comprehension.

And, let us know your thoughts on reading Knox Security in the comments. If you are using Samsung Galaxy devices, let us know how much secure you feel with Knox. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned.

Frequently Asked Questions

1) Is Knox Security free for Samsung?

“My KNOX” from Samsung is a free security solution that helps to separate enterprise and personal data. A virtual Android environment within a mobile device that includes its home screen, launcher, apps, and widgets.

2) Is Samsung Knox an antivirus?

The Knox mobile security platform is made up of multiple defence and security mechanisms that guard against intrusion, malware, and other malicious threats.

3) Is Knox security on Samsung good?

While we can’t say how well Samsung Knox compares to Apple’s counterpart, it’s as good as you can get on an Android device.

4) Is Knox a VPN?

Samsung Knox devices offer defence-grade VPNs and are constantly adding new and evolving VPN capabilities to meet the most stringent data-in-transit requirements.

5) How much does Samsung Knox security cost?

Samsung will continue to sell Knox Workspace software for $3.60 per user per month as an add-on to Knox Premium for $1 per user per month.

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