Android vulnerable, FBI cracked iPhone, Samsung Knox better: Gartner

The well-documented fact that the FBI had to jump through hoops to unlock (read: hack) an iPhone does say volumes about the device’s security.

Research firm Gartner, however, found rival Samsung’s Knox a better bet when it comes to security in a study it conducted with 12 mobile device platforms – Android 4, 5, and 6; BlackBerry 10; BlackBerry Android; iOS 8 and 9; Samsung Knox; Windows Phone 8.1 and 10 (Lumia); and Windows 8.1 and 10 (Surface).

There have been several reports in the past that have highlighted Android’s vulnerability, not the least because it is the most popular platform.

But Gartner research director Patrick Hevesi awarded Knox more “strong” ratings than any other system he tested in the security evaluation.

According to Gartner, Knox emerges as the only platform with “strong” ratings for every control in the corporate managed security section.

BlackBerry 10, generally perceived as most secure platform, came second, receiving “strong” ratings in every category except Device Firewall Management, where it rated “average.”

“Knox 2.6, Samsung’s built in defense-grade security that is ready for work right out of the box, is operable by personal mobile and is compatible with more devices including the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge devices, Samsung Gear S2, and Android tablets like Galaxy Tab S2,” says Samsung.

“The benefits of securing your mobile networks cannot be emphasised enough – malware and security breaches are mounting IT concerns, and the growing popularity of BYOD means that you need a secure mobile platform that is always on,” it maintains.

Gartner's report examined a variety of core OS security features besides physical attacks (device loss, theft and disposal), logical attacks through network, logical attacks on devices (rootkits, malicious software and configurations, and common security functionality in mobile platforms.