Knox
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BlackBerry's response to Samsung's SAFE Knox for enterprise: 'We've been doing that since 1999'
With Samsung stepping on Blackberry's enterprise turf via its SAFE with Knox launch, it's not too surprising the Canadian outfit has a few choice words on the subject. We spoke with mobile computing Executive VP David J. Smith, who finds it "flattering" that Samsung is taking a similar interest in enterprise security, but said it may take awhile to catch up since his own company's been doing it "since 1999." He said that experience means "nothing is more secure" than BB10 smartphones combined with its Balance work/home app and Blackberry Enterprise Service 10 (BES). Of course, the latter now supports Android and iOS devices, but Smith added that the main problem with Samsung's approach is Android itself -- which he feels brings its own bag of insecure worms to the enterprise space. With Samsung touting Knox's ability to separate enterprise functions from a user's "personal space," Smith pointed to the Balance app -- which has been doing that since 2011 -- claiming it's the only solution that "can effectively keep sensitive corporate information secure while keeping an individual's personal information private." In contrast, Smith said Android is still inherently "vulnerable" due to its open nature, while BB engineered its Blackberry OS kernel in-house to be secure and that aspect was "completely understood" by company engineers. He added that programmers are constantly fine-tuning those features for its own BB10 and legacy handsets, adding that it would bring new Android and iOS "containers" and other features later this year to further boost security for those devices. Naturally, the outfit's likely hoping you'll want one of its shiny new devices to swipe or click, but failing that, he says that you'll be the most secure under its BES 10 umbrella, regardless of your handset.
Samsung announces SAFE with Knox, details plans to secure the enterprise Galaxy (hands-on)
BlackBerry has Balance, and no more than a month after the company once known as Research in Motion debuted its first BB 10 handset, Samsung has a dual-workspace solution of its own: SAFE with Knox. Unlike SAFE, which stands for Samsung for Enterprise, Knox, which was named for the Army outpost where America stores much of its gold, was not crafted into an acronym (though we imagine marketers dedicated at least one meeting to the cause). It's appropriately named, given the company's plans to dominate the enterprise industry with what's soon to be "the most comprehensive mobile security solution." So what will you find within the Fort Knox of the smartphone world? It's an IT manager's pipe dream, of sorts. A comprehensive collection of features that include Security Enhanced (SE) Android, secure boot, TrustZone-based Integrity Monitoring (TIMA) for protecting the kernel, Single Sign On (SSO) and that application container concept made famous by BlackBerry, just to name a few. Best of all, Knox will ship pre-installed on select devices, all sold as one SKU -- in other words, consumers and enterprise customers alike will be taking home identical handsets, simplifying the process significantly for BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) businesses. We'll explain in a bit more detail in our hands-on video after the break.
Agile Web Solutions takes over development of Knox
Years ago I started using Knox for securing files, folders and drives. It's an easy and very secure way to keep your private files private. This week, long-time developers Marko Karppinen & Co. handed it over to Agile Web Solutions. As Agile is behind the popular 1Password, I think it was a great choice. In fact, the two utilities work well together: Knox protects your files while 1Password protects your passwords. Knox employs the US Government's Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with 256-bit or 128-bit key length. What that means is that your stuff is safe from the cranky teenager down the block as well as hostile nations. I've used it to secure USB flash drives, as they're so easy to misplace. Version 2 is available here. It's a useful application that's in good hands at Agile. A 30-day free trial is available, and a single license will run you US$34.95.
Knox version 1.0.7 is available
I'll admit it, I don't want people poking around my Mac. While I may want certain files encrypted, Apple's File Vault would be overkill for my needs. That's why I use Knox. With Knox, you can quickly create password-protected, encrypted volumes that you alone can gain access to. You can even schedule backups to occur whenever your iPod is docked. If that's not your cup of tea, you can use a remote server or even your .Mac storage space as a backup destination for Knox. Moving from volume to volume is easily accomplished via a menu bar item.How secure is secure? From the website: "Knox’s encryption—based on Apple’s FileVault technology—protects files with the U.S. Government’s new Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)." So there you go. Changes to version 1.0.7 include: Fixed a problem with opening the Preferences window after upgrading to 1.0.6. Fixed a crashing bug in Knox task handling. There is a free trial available, and a single license will cost you $29.95US (€29.95 w/ VAT). Knox requires Mac OS 10.3.9 or later.
