Samsung develops new security chip for smartphones
Samsung has launched a new secure element (SE) chip to protect private and sensitive data on mobile devices, the company said on Tuesday.
The chip, dubbed S3FV9RR, will be offered as a standalone turnkey with security software, Samsung said.
Common Criteria, which certifies the security level of IT products from EAL0 to EAL7 with seven being the most secure, gave the security chip a Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level (CC EAL) 6+ certification.
With the 6+ certification, Samsung said the SE chip has the highest rating to date for a mobile component.
According to Samsung, the new chip provides protection for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets when performing booting, isolated storage, mobile payment, among other applications.
It can also be used for e-passports and cryptocurrency hardware wallets, and to support hardware-based root of trust and device authentication. The chip is also versatile, Samsung added, as it can work independently from the security performance of a device's main processor.
The SE chip will be available in the third quarter.
The company first deployed a similar SE chip back in February for the Galaxy S20 series, which was CC EAL 5+certified.
Samsung's profits remained stable for the first quarter of 2020, but it said that it expects smartphone profits and sales to nosedive in the second quarter due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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