Let’s face it, consumers are getting smart but scammers are getting hella smart – so smart, that even someone I know who stays vigilant fell for one. That someone is me. From personal experience, I have to say it’s so tough to say what’s real and what’s fake. Many brands are acting on this by incorporating not just software-based security but hardware-based security to go along with it. With Samsung and their A Series, we get Knox Vault for the first time – and trust us, it does protect you from scams and losing your money.
Knox Vault: What is it?
Generally, whenever you have sensitive information such as your banking credentials, passwords and so on, it gets stored just like any information gets stored. This leaves room for vulnerabilities where with the help of those “suspicious apk” or any of those types, it is easily tampered with, therefore, your data being stolen. While software security can be decent, it isn’t the safest for today’s digital age.
Now Knox Vault is a separate module that creates a TEE, which stands for Trusted Execution Environment, where it stores all of the passwords, biometrics and even cryptographic keys that are used to encrypt and decrypt data. You might go, “Why does it sound so familiar?”. That’s because we have had similar types of security solutions from other OS and brands as well – like Microsoft with TPM, Apple with T2 and the list goes on.
How does it work?
We are going to keep things in layman’s terms before we talk technicalities. Say you are getting a bunch of Apples (ironic, I know). After you pluck those apples from the tree and store them in the baskets, your pet dog carries an apple with its mouth and throws it into the basket. What you don’t know is, that apple is contaminated.
But after you get home, you separate the apples into two baskets. The next day you realize that one basket has gone bad and the other one is still as fresh as ever. Thank goodness that you have another batch which you can now give out to your friends.
Think of the Knox Vault the same way. You have your processor, and then you have the Knox Vault, which exists as a separate security chip. Your Knox Vault stores all the passwords, credentials and so on, however, your processor handles the “processing” like the application for instance. When the phone gets tampered with, your applications are exploited BUT your credentials are not because it’s stored in a safe.
This is pretty much how it works.
How does it Protect you?
Now in the case of Knox Vault, you get both Software and Hardware protection, think of it as a first line and second line of defence. Since Knox Vault exists as its own entity on your phone, and yes, independent from your primary processor that handles Android, your phone is protected from attacks that can exploit the software. Even when it does, your excruciatingly important sensitive data is not compromised as it’s stored in the Knox Vault instead.
Samsung claims that their Knox Vault is impossible to tamper with through hardware attacks – and this is only attemptable when someone acquires your device. In fact, Samsung strongly says that it is impossible to do hardware attacks like Physical probing, Physical manipulation of the circuits to deactivate security, forcing info leaks and so on.
There are other features with Knox Vault. There’s
- Weaver, which is used to secure password authentication to Android.
- Credential Storage: it stores encrypted data, where the data is transferred between the Processor and the Vault Storage, storing Cryptographic Keys and blockchain keystore Credentials.
- Samsung Attestation Key: which detects if the device or the keys are compromised and blocks access to Knox Services, Samsung Pay and Pass
- and finally, StrongBox Keymaster: manages the key for applications with cryptographic algorithms.
Why is it a big deal in the Samsung Galaxy A Series?
Samsung Knox has been around for a little over a decade and it has come a long way. From being something simple like setting up a Work Knox environment to what it is now, it’s an absolute monster of a Security solution. Knox Vault made its debut in the S21 Series and it has been a key feature since then.
In fact, during the time when I got scammed, I was using the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra – I noticed how when my device was compromised, it isolated the “app” from looking for more information on my phone. While I did lose my money back in 2022, it’s safe to say that my data was intact.
While it’s been around for the S Series for a while now, it’s an absolute relief to see the A series adopting the hardware security – because to see your data safely stored in a separate part of the phone from prying apps and eyes, it’s good to know that you don’t have to spend for a phone that costs an arm and a leg to get the security features.
Now, yes, a hardware security solution like this, requires other hardware that’s capable of handling things very well – It’s safe to say that the Samsung Galaxy A55 we reviewed is more than capable of doing that. And so does the Galaxy A35.
Additional Features under Knox Security
Suppose you own the Samsung Galaxy A55 or A35 or you are getting it for your parents or someone who has less experience with tech. In that case, there are other features under the Security and Privacy toggle in Settings to make the phone well protected from threats as simple as a spam ad.
Auto Blocker
This Security feature blocks apps from unauthorized sources, apps gets checked for malicious activities, and even blocks commands via USB Cable. On top of that, you can block Messages that are suspected of Malware and block Software Updates via USB too. I strongly recommend enabling this feature for your parents or grandparents.
More Security Settings
Under this toggle, you have more security features such as Secure Folder, Secure Wi-Fi, Enhanced Data Protection, Android Safe Browsing, SD Card encryption, and Samsung Pass – just to name the important few.
Conclusion
Despite all these Samsung Knox or Knox Vault Security Solutions, I must say that while hardware and software is getting smart, people who inflict threats are getting extremely smart too. Features like these are great, but the most important thing is, you have to be vigilant. But that said, adding on top of that, you do get such Security solutions from Samsung and now with the A Series.
Hope you enjoyed this guide and the explanation we have given. It took us a while to curate this article as we wanted to make sure that we made it as easy as possible to understand. But should you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment on our social media.
