Certifies secure handling of sensitive data

Samsung has announced that its Galaxy S II smartphone, Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi edition and Galaxy Tab 10.1 4G LTE have received Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2 (FIPS) certification from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The certification means that government agencies and regulated industries, such as financial and health care institutions, can use the global version of the devices to handle certain types of secure data. Samsung has also given the devices its own proprietary SAFE (Samsung Approved for Enterprise) enterprise security certification.

FIPS is a federal security and interoperability standard. Compliance reassures certified companies that they can collect, transfer, share and release sensitive but unclassified (SBU) information securely. Samsung's certification applies specifically to transmissions over Verizon's wireless network.

Samsung's SAFE certification assures users that the devices have been configured specifically to meet the company's own security criteria for enterprise use. This includes providing support for Microsoft Exchange device management policies, mobile device management, on-device encryption, and VPN access.

Android has typically had little traction in the enterprise, in part as it was focused more on everyday users rather than corporate buyers. Motorola has usually been one of the few to push the enterprise through custom apps, but it hasn't seen much take-up in practice.

By Electronista Staff