As our dependence on smartphones has grown—either for personal or business use —so too have the risks of data theft and other malicious attempts to access our personal information. To address this, Samsung has introduced a Secure Element (SE) turnkey system for mobile devices. The SE consists of a security chip (S3K250AF) and optimized software that guards private data in an isolated data storage platform.
The S3K250AF-based SE combines a microcontroller, hardware-level protection and a secure OS. With Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level (CC EAL) 5+ certified hardware, the highest level achievable by a mobile component, and dedicated protection software, this system helps to provide enhanced security measures on mobile devices.
“Strong security measures have become a crucial feature in today’s smart devices as they evolve into essential tools that hold the key to our personal data connected to various services such as the cloud and financial transactions,” said Dongho Shin, senior vice president at Samsung Electronics.
Shin also noted that “Samsung has a long and proven history in security solutions such as smart card ICs, IoT processors and other semiconductor products that require robust security. Our new turnkey SE solution for mobile devices will not only keep user data safer on the go but also enable new mobile applications that will broaden and enrich our everyday lives.”
Although current smartphones and tablets already have strong security measures in place to fend off possible tampering attempts, Samsung’s SE chip adds extra counter measures to defend against attack vectors such as reverse engineering, power glitches and laser attacks, making it more difficult for cyber criminals to access or copy stored confidential data. In addition, the SE prevents replay attacks by accepting only the latest authentication request as a valid one.
This SE system is currently in mass production and can be found in the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S20 smartphones.