Samsung Message Guard Helps Protect Your Data from the Latest Threats
The next big threat to mobile security could hit anyone — but Samsung Galaxy has a new line of defense.
Did you know that simply getting an image on your phone could be enough for hackers to gain access to your device? Although everyone knows not to open random links or attachments, this cannot guarantee security as cyber criminals are constantly trying new attack methods.
“Zero-click” exploits are the latest type of cyber attack and can happen anytime an image is received on a phone. A single image could contain malicious code.
Samsung Electronics is constantly looking ahead to anticipate potential threats and develop preventive security measures – such as Samsung Message Guard.
New security for new threats
Imagine this: your phone receives a picture via SMS and gently vibrates, or it lies on your bedside table and briefly lights up while you sleep. You haven’t touched your phone, but someone may already be reading your messages, browsing your gallery, and looking at other personal information.
Zero-click exploits are just the latest threat in an era of increasing cybercrime targeting user data. One in three consumers around the world has been the victim of a data breach where their personal information has been hacked.[1] Data breaches are becoming increasingly common, with rates more than tripling between 2013 and 2021.[2]
Threats evolve and so does Samsung mobile security. Samsung Galaxy smartphones offer comprehensive security protections with the powerful Samsung Knox platform to protect users from attacks using video and audio formats. Samsung Message Guard takes this security a step further by preemptively providing another layer of protection for your device and limiting exposure to invisible threats disguised as image attachments.[3]
The security solution currently works on Samsung Messages and Messages by Google.[4] In line with Samsung’s open collaboration philosophy, a software update for Samsung Message Guard will be rolled out at a later date to make it work with third-party messaging apps.
How it works
Samsung Message Guard behaves like an advanced “sandbox” or a kind of virtual quarantine. When an image file arrives via text, the image is captured and isolated from the rest of your device. This prevents malicious code from accessing the device’s files or interacting with the operating system. Samsung Message Guard inspects the image file piece by piece and processes it in a controlled environment to ensure it cannot infect the rest of your device.
Simply put, Samsung Message Guard is designed to automatically neutralize all potential threats hiding in image files before they can damage the device. It runs silently and largely invisibly in the background and does not need to be activated by the user.
Samsung Message Guard is the latest advanced security solution from Samsung. Samsung Galaxy devices already offer industry-leading security and privacy in other areas, thanks to the award-winning Samsung Knox platform, which offers end-to-end protection at all hardware and software layers, as well as real-time threat detection.
Availability
Samsung Message Guard is available on the new Samsung Galaxy S23 series. It will be rolled out to other Galaxy smartphones and tablets[5] later this year.