Samsung’s Message Guard Availability

Samsung has recently introduced a new security feature called Message Guard that aims to protect against “zero-click” cyberattacks hidden in images sent through messages.

Zero-click cyberattacks have become increasingly prevalent over the years, installing malware onto devices without requiring any interaction from the user. While suspicious links and attachments are usually flagged, images are often overlooked. When an image is sent via message, it is automatically saved on the device, providing hackers with access to the user’s data without their knowledge. To counter this threat, Samsung’s Message Guard offers an additional layer of defense by identifying and isolating potential threats in image attachments.

The Message Guard security feature constantly monitors smartphones for potential threats and isolates any image file attachment in a secure environment, preventing malicious code from interacting with the device’s operating system or accessing its files. The feature then scans the image file for potential threats in a secure environment to ensure that it does not infect the device. Any potential threat hidden in image file formats like PNG, JPG/JPEG, GIF, ICO, WEBP, BMP, or WBMP will be automatically quarantined by the security feature before it can cause any harm to the device.

Samsung has recently launched the Message Guard security feature, designed to protect against zero-click cyberattacks that are disguised as images in messages. This proactive security measure is currently available on the latest Samsung Galaxy S23 series devices and will be included in future security updates for other Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets. However, it is important to note that eligible devices must be running One UI 5.1 or higher versions. Message Guard runs in the background automatically, silently quarantining and processing the inbound image file in messages without user intervention.

Message Guard is currently compatible with Samsung Message and Messages by Google. However, Samsung plans to release an update for additional messaging applications later this year. Samsung’s existing comprehensive security feature, Samsung Knox, provides protection against video and audio format-based cyberattacks. Message Guard enhances this feature by protecting against invisible threats that are disguised as image attachments.

Samsung mobile security aims to achieve industry-leading security and privacy protections by combining the latest Message Guard protection with Samsung Knox platform protection across every layer of hardware and software. By preventing zero-click cyberattacks from gaining access to user data, Samsung ensures its devices have enhanced security and privacy protection.