Even though everyone knows not to open random links or attachments, cybercriminals are always looking for new ways to attack. The most recent type of cyberattack is zero-click exploits, which can occur at any time an image is received. Malicious code could be hidden in a single image.
New protection against new threats
Imagine this: An image arrives on your phone. Before remaining still, it vibrates gently in your pocket. Or it’s on your bedside table, providing a brief illumination while you sleep. Even though you haven’t touched your phone, it’s possible that someone already has access to your messages, gallery, and bank information.
Zero-click exploits are just one more threat in an era when user data is the target of more and more cybercrime. One in three consumers worldwide has been affected by a data breach in which their personal information was compromised. Rates of data breaches have more than tripled between 2013 and 2021.2 Threats change, but Samsung’s mobile security also changes. With the powerful Samsung Knox platform, Samsung Galaxy smartphones provide comprehensive security, and users are already protected from video and audio format attacks. Samsung Message Guard goes one step further by preventing your device from being harmed by image attachments disguised as invisible threats.
To Samsung’s philosophy of open collaboration, a software update will be released at a later date to enable Samsung Message Guard to protect you across third-party messaging apps as well. The security solution is currently compatible with Samsung Messages and Messages by Google.
An Environment of Safety
A cutting-edge “sandbox,” also known as a virtual quarantine, Samsung Message Guard exists. An image file is locked away from the rest of the device when it arrives. This prevents malicious code from interacting with your phone’s operating system or accessing its files. Samsung Message Guard processes the file in a controlled environment and checks each bit individually to ensure that it does not infect the rest of your device.
To put it simply, Samsung Message Guard automatically eliminates any potential threat that may be contained in image files before it has a chance to harm you. Additionally, it does not need to be activated by the user and operates silently and virtually unseen in the background. Therefore, unlike in the past, when you could be in danger without doing anything, you are now protected from zero-click exploits without having to do anything.
The most recent, forward-thinking security solution from Samsung is called Samsung Message Guard. Separately, the award-winning Samsung Knox ensures that Samsung Galaxy devices already provide industry-leading privacy and security protections in other areas. Real-time threat detection and end-to-end protection are provided by this across all software and hardware layers.
Availability
A solution for the Samsung Galaxy S23 series is Samsung Message Guard. Later this year, it will be gradually made available to other Galaxy smartphones and tablets5.
