Samsung unleashes new security features with AI & quantum

Samsung has revealed a suite of new security and privacy updates coming to its Galaxy smartphones with the release of One UI 8.

The company says the updates are aimed at enhancing user control and the protection of personal information as AI-powered features become more prevalent in mobile devices.

The rollout will include several new elements, such as Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection (KEEP), advancements to Knox Matrix, and enhancements to Secure Wi-Fi with quantum-resistant encryption technologies.

Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection

One of the headline features is Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection (KEEP), described by Samsung as a new architecture designed to safeguard AI-powered functions and personal user data.

KEEP works by creating encrypted, app-specific storage environments within the device's secure area, ensuring individual applications have access only to their own sensitive information. This, according to Samsung, helps to better protect items such as routines and preferences that enable various AI features, all while ensuring that these details remain on the device and are not uploaded externally.

KEEP is also said to support Galaxy's Personal Data Engine, with protection extended by Samsung's hardware-based Knox Vault. Samsung notes this provides a foundation for AI features while prioritising data privacy. The KEEP system can also be scaled across future Galaxy AI innovations, protecting on-device features that draw upon user-specific data without compromising privacy standards.

Knox Matrix evolution

Samsung is also advancing protections for connected Galaxy devices through developments to Knox Matrix with One UI 8.

The updated system is intended to provide a more proactive and user-friendly response to threats. If a device is flagged as being at serious risk due to issues such as system manipulation or identity forgery, Samsung states the device will automatically be signed out of the Samsung Account.

This measure is designed to halt access to cloud-connected services, preventing a threat from potentially spreading to other devices within the user's ecosystem.

After such an event, users receive notifications across their Galaxy devices and are directed to a 'Security status of your devices' page to review and address the issue.

Even those devices that may not have the most up-to-date security status will trigger a lower-level warning, assisting users in taking preventative action early.

"Together, these updates make Samsung Galaxy's ecosystem-level protection more dynamic, intuitive and visible, empowering users to maintain trust across all their devices with more confidence and clarity," a statement from Samsung read.

Secure Wi-Fi and quantum-resistant encryption

Addressing the emerging threat landscape posed by quantum computing, Samsung is introducing post-quantum cryptography to Secure Wi-Fi, building on foundations first established with the Galaxy S25 series.

This enhancement uses a new cryptographic framework as part of the Post-Quantum Enhanced Data Protection (EDP) initiative, aiming to strengthen network defence against future threats linked to quantum computing.

Samsung warns that once quantum computing is more widely available, it could weaken or undermine existing data protection approaches. The integration of post-quantum cryptography is designed to ensure that encrypted connections remain robust, including in public environments, so that potential attacks involving the collection and later decryption of data—so-called "harvest now, decrypt later" tactics - are mitigated.

In addition to future-oriented cryptography, Secure Wi-Fi provides several privacy-focused features.

Auto Protect is designed to activate automatically in public locations, such as cafes, airports and hotels, offering secure Wi-Fi connections without requiring any user action. Enhanced Privacy Protection employs multiple encryption and relay techniques to obscure a device's online activities. The Protection Activity tool displays which applications and networks have been secured and details about encrypted data usage.

Multi-layered core protections

Beyond the latest upgrades, Samsung states it "continues to reinforce fundamental security features within the Galaxy experience."

These include Knox Vault for storing sensitive information in isolated hardware, Auto Blocker to prevent unauthorised app installations and mitigate risks from sophisticated threats, and Advanced Intelligence Settings, which enable users to opt out of online data processing in AI features.

Enhanced Theft Protection offers additional measures such as identity checks and security delays designed to defend personal data in cases of device theft or unauthorised access attempts.

This latest set of updates reinforces Samsung's long-standing commitment to mobile security that evolves with innovation.

It strengthens on-device privacy for personalised AI with KEEP, expands transparency and user control through Knox Matrix, and introduces quantum-resistant protection to Secure Wi-Fi for a more future-ready Galaxy experience.

As new security challenges emerge, Samsung remains focused on delivering safeguards that are built in, always on and ready for what's next.