ASD approves four Samsung smartphones for Government use

The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) has approved four new Samsung Galaxy smartphones for Government use.

The agency has added the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, S20 FE 5G, Note20 and Note20 5G devices to the new Security Configuration Guidance.

The approval comes after “stringent” testing and assessments undertaken by the ASD and provide guidance for the use of the devices in “Sensitive” and “Protected” deployments.

The devices are the latest from Samsung to be given the ASD’s blessing, following the Cryptographic Evaluation (ACE) level certification of the Galaxy S9 and S9+ models in 2019. They were also the first Android devices to be approved for Australian government use at “Protected” level.

“Samsung devices are designed to provide a safe and secure operating platform for use in a wide range of conditions and under stringent environments,” Samsung Australia vice president of IT and mobile Garry McGregor said.

“This latest Configuration Guidance from the ASD opens the opportunity for a wider range of our Galaxy devices to be utilised within some of the most demanding Government departments and scenarios. We look forward to building our relationship with the Australian Government by delivering the very best in Samsung mobile innovation and security.”

Samsung said its Knox security platform was the basis for the devices’ testing and approval, citing its customisable capability to meet high security protocols at a hardware and software level.

ASD testing includes patching applications and operating systems, configuration of Microsoft Office macro settings, user application hardening, restricting administrative privileges, and multi-factor authentication.