MWC 2014: Samsung Knox 2.0 Adds Two-Factor Authentication, Marketplace And Dual Billing

Samsung’s bid to make a serious impact in the enterprise mobility market has been boosted by a major update to its Knox mobile security and management platform, which brings a host of new features and support for third party containers.

Knox 2.0 promises to protect devices from the hardware to the application and will be made available during the second quarter of 2014, with existing customers able to upgrade once they have installed Android KitKat. The software comes preinstalled with the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S5.

Security enhancements

“As a leading provider of Android devices, it is our mission to make Android platform even more secure to lead enterprise mobility market,” says JK Shin, president and CEO of Samsung Mobile. “With the new features of Knox 2.0 we are able to provide our users with a truly enterprise-ready mobile solution. We will continue to work hard and listen to both our partners and customers to constantly improve the Knox platform to meet these ever-changing needs.”

New security features include TrustZone-protected certificate management, which generates and maintains client certificates, and a Knox key store which allows third parties to use encryption to secure their applications. Administrators will also benefit from real-time monitoring, while Knox also supports two-factor authentication for fingerprint and password log-ins, as well as support for per-app VPN functions.

Container support

Knox 2.0 features support for most Android apps, removing the need to go through the wrapping process for third-party applications. It also supports third-party containers. Samsung has agreed a deal with Good Technology, adding another layer of application security.

“Good is the first partner afforded a secure domain on KNOX-enabled devices, and we believe this integration will greatly accelerate Android adoption for our enterprise customers,” says Injong Rhee, senior vice president of Samsung Knox.

“This is a huge win for Samsung and Good customers. Because Good’s apps and container security layer have a unique place in the KNOX stack, Good customers can now benefit from KNOX’s hardware- and OS- level security,” adds Christy Wyatt, president and CEO of Good Technology.

BYOD credentials

Samsung has also added dual access point name (APN) support to the platform, allowing it to distinguish between personal and business app use, and separate bill charges – something which Samsung says solves on the biggest barriers to BYOD adoption.

Additionally, Knox 2.0 features an enterprise mobility management (EMM) service which has more than 326 IT policies, support for single sign-on and a new marketplace for Knox and enterprise cloud apps, with more than 140 applications available.

Samsung Knox was originally announced at last year’s Mobile World Congress and launched in October 2013. Since then, Samsung claims to have sold more than 25 million Knox-enabled devices and the service already attracted more than one million users, with 210,000 activated each month.

The Korean manufacturer told TechWeekEurope of its plans for a major enterprise push last year, explaining that it was looking to the business market to maintain growth, amid fears of smartphone saturation in developed markets.

What do you know about MWC?