Security Vulnerabilities

A serious security vulnerability was reportedly found in Samsung’s smartphone app Knox.
A serious security vulnerability was reportedly found in Samsung’s smartphone app Knox.

 

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on December 24 that a serious security vulnerability was found in Samsung’s smartphone app Knox.

Mordechai Guri, a researcher at Israel’s  Ben-Gurion University’s Cyber Lab, alleged that a critical security vulnerability was discovered earlier this month, which would allow outsiders to breach the smartphone’s security and access supposedly secure user data.  

The Knox app is designed to protect corporate data on a personal smartphone, data such as email, contacts, and calendar information. But in a worst-case scenario, hackers could install a Trojan on a Knox-enabled phone that could enter the corporate security network via the Knox app and wreak havoc. 

Samsung is reportedly conducting its own investigation, but announced that similar allegations have been made before, and that the problem is not as serious as Guri claims.

Samsung also argued that in order to run Knox properly there must be additional software installed, but the lab’s testing was done without the required software.

The WSJ also reported earlier this month that system errors have been repeatedly found in Knox, prompting consumer complaints.

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