In a world obsessed with privacy and security, the primary concern while driving enterprise mobility at any organization is to upkeep the privacy of the user/employee while ensuring end-to-end security of corporate data. On corporate-owned devices, it becomes imperative to create security checks and enforce restrictions to ensure that corporate data is not misused or accessed by unauthorized entities. As the use of BYO devices increases, ensuring corporate data security becomes more critical since the employees use several applications for personal use, over which the IT admin cannot exercise control.
Identifying the need to mitigate this problem while ensuring a consistent user experience and empowering the workforce to use their favorite Samsung devices for work, Samsung offers the Samsung Knox platform for enterprises.
What is Samsung Knox?
Samsung Knox is an additional, specialized security layer built and added to Samsung devices running with Android and Tizen operating systems. This security layer is added to high-end, top-tier Samsung mobile smartphones and tablets. Samsung Knox ensures added enterprise security to vulnerable corporate sensitive data on Knox mobile devices. It also maintains privacy between devices shared for personal and corporate use.
Knox is included in Google’s Enterprise solution Android for Work to provide real-time protection of the Linux Kernel. It is recommended to be used for checking malware as well as the parts of the trusted boot procedure. Samsung Knox is an enterprise management solution for businesses that provides defense-grade security and manages Samsung devices used for work.
Samsung Knox is ideal for Mobile Device Management (MDM) Models such as:
- COBO (Corporate-owned business-only or fully managed)
- COPE (Corporate-owned personally enabled)
- BYOD (Bring your own or employee-owned)
How Does Samsung Knox Work in Enterprise Setting?
Samsung Knox framework adds an impregnable Knox layer to your Samsung mobile device. This layer makes breaking into certain information or personal and business data impossible even when the device is accessed without authority or is handled by malicious intentions.
The critical corporate data can be stored behind the protection of the Knox layer. The device can be used for both works as well as personal purposes without jeopardizing the corporate data or the user’s privacy.
Which Devices is Samsung Knox Security Available for?
Samsung Knox is available on any Samsung Galaxy device with Android Lollipop or greater firmware. It is important to note that all Samsung devices are not secured by Knox. You can check out the list of devices secured by Knox here.
What’s a Secure Folder in Samsung’s Android Mobile Devices?
On Samsung Galaxy devices powered by Android, the Knox layer or container is known as the secure folder. The transition to the Knox layer is possible with a simple tap on the Knox icon, followed by entering a password. On the Knox-protected side of the device, only certain business-specific applications are allowed. Other applications can be added on the Knox side subjected to the application policy of the organization.
With support for application-level security & application data isolation, Samsung Knox prevents data exchange and tampering between work and personal apps. If an enterprise device has the same application on the non-Knox side, the data on each layer will be kept separate from each other. The data on the work app and personal app will remain private.
Key Capabilities of Samsung Knox that Benefit Enterprises
- Hardware-based, multi-layer security
- Robust containerization to separate work and play apps
- On-device data encryption
- VPN support
- Active directory-based Single Sign-On to enterprise apps
- Active directory-based management for policy deployment
- Protection against Factory reset
Samsung Knox Management with Scalefusion MDM
Scalefusion MDM facilitates the IT admins to have optimized control while managing corporate-owned Android devices. Along with the security features offered by Samsung Knox, Scalefusion facilitates enhanced security and ease of Knox mobile enrollment.
How Can Enterprises Benefit from Samsung Knox Devices Managed using Scalefusion?
1. Out of the Box Device Enrollment Method –
Scalefusion supports Samsung KME for enrollment of Knox devices. Using this Scalefusion feature, organizations and businesses can configure Samsung Knox devices in bulk, and enroll them in corporate policies straight out of the box. This saves precious IT time and effort in manually configuring individual devices. The end-users can receive a pre-provisioned device shipped straight from the warehouse and use it directly by connecting to the internet.
2. Protection Against Factory Reset –
The biggest threat to managed devices in case of theft, loss, or unauthorized access is misusing the device for non-business purposes by factory resetting the device. With Scalefusion +Samsung KME, enhanced protection against factory reset is made available. If a Knox device is factory reset by the end user, it is automatically re-enrolled in the corporate device policy upon powering on. Additionally, IT admins can disable the factory reset option on Samsung devices via the device policy settings.
3. Additional Security Settings –
For Samsung’s Knox devices, IT admins can prevent the users from booting the device in safe mode with the power-off key. To ensure that only trusted apps are available on Knox devices, IT admins can not only enforce strict app management but also prevent the installation of Android applications from third-party apps or directly by downloading APKs in Knox workspace. IT admins can also control OS updates on the Knox device. They can delay the updates up to 30 days, automatically install the updates or schedule the updates during a maintenance window.
Scalefusion + Samsung Knox is a powerful combination for managing the Knox devices deployed for business. Bundled with other Android device management capabilities of Scalefusion, using Samsung Knox devices in the corporate environment paves the way for accelerated business growth, enhanced security requirements and improved productivity.
