Samsung has announced a new feature called message guard It comes with safeguards to protect you from malware and spyware via what are called zero-click attacks.
The South Korean conglomerate said the solution “preemptively” protects users’ devices by “limiting exposure to invisible threats disguised as image attachments.”
The security features available for Samsung Messages and Google Messages are currently limited to the Samsung Galaxy S23 series and will be expanded to other Galaxy smartphones and tablets running One UI 5.1 or later later this year.
A zero-click attack is a highly targeted and sophisticated attack that exploits previously unknown software flaws (i.e. zero-days) to deploy malicious code without requiring user interaction. Trigger execution.
Unlike traditional methods of remotely exploiting devices, attackers use phishing tactics to trick users into clicking malicious links or opening malicious files. It completely avoids the need for social engineering and provides an entry point for adversaries.
The majority of zero-click exploits are designed to take advantage of vulnerabilities in applications such as messaging, SMS, or email apps that receive and process untrusted data.
As a result, if a security vulnerability exists in the way an app interprets incoming data, an attacker can use this shortcoming to automatically extract code embedded within it when it is sent to a targeted device. can create malicious images that run on
The lack of interaction involved in a zero-click attack means less evidence of malicious activity, making it a highly regarded tool for delivering spyware that can monitor individuals and gather a wealth of sensitive information.
Samsung’s Message Guard works for many image formats, including PNG, JPG/JPEG, GIF, ICO, WEBP, BMP, and WBMP, and basically converts images received via the app to other operating systems. It acts as a sandbox designed to isolate from system.
“Message Guard checks files incrementally and processes them in a controlled environment to prevent them from infecting other parts of the device,” the company said.
This feature is also similar to Apple’s iMessage feature called BlastDoor, which the tech giant has included in iOS 14 as a way to combat zero-click attacks via messaging apps.
Last year, Apple also introduced an “extreme optional protection” setting called “Lockdown Mode,” which protects iPhones and iPads from “extremely rare and highly sophisticated cyberattacks.”
