Samsung hero Galaxy S5 approved for use by Australian Government
Samsung S5 has got the nod for use by government officials, after meeting strict security criteria.
Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S5 smartphone has achieved Common Criteria Certification, which means the Android device is recognised as a mobile device suitable for the protection of Australian Government information at the UNCLASSIFIED/Dissemination Limiting Marker level.
The standard is developed by the National Information Assurance Partnership and includes 80 core device security requirements, including Key Management, Crypto Module, Device Encryption, WiFi Security, Screen Lock and Mobile Device Management (MDM).
It basically means ministers and government officials can text, call freely and store data safely without fear of being intercepted by spies or hackers. So Clive Palmer is free to text, say, MP Malcolm Turnbull to say their dinner date is off, or being moved to a quieter location.
The S5 demonstrated compliance with over one hundred unique requirements, ranging from encryption to intrusion detection to key exchange to support for secure networking standards.
The Galaxy S5 is also qualified for use in U.S. Military, Federal Agencies and Australian Signals Directorate.
The seal of approval is Samsung latest push in the mobile enterprise space – earlier this year it released Knox 2.0 data security platform to lure more BYOD users to its device.
Samsung Australia is believed to be working with local enterprises but would not give any further details when contacted by ChannelNews.
“Achieving this certification further strengthens Samsung’s strong security credentials,” said Craig Gledhill, Samsung’s vice president of enterprise and SMB for ANZ and Southeast Asia.
“This is an endorsement of our investment and commitment to meet the strict security standards for government and enterprises in Australia who can rely on Samsung for mobile devices that come with strong, built-in security capabilities.”
This is good news for the Samsung hero device, which analysts say will outsell iPhone 5S in Australia, in the coming months.
However, there was less good news on the profit front – new guidance released by the company this week suggests operating profit will be down 25%, as smartphone market gets more competitive.
