Samsung has announced a major update to its Galaxy smartphone software, introducing a series of security and privacy enhancements with the rollout of Samsung One UI 8.
The update brings quantum-resistant encryption, on-device AI data controls and an expanded multi-device threat response framework, reflecting the company’s continued push to harden the Galaxy ecosystem as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into mobile workflows.
At the centre of the update is Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection (KEEP), a new architecture that isolates app-specific personal data within encrypted containers.
The update also extends Samsung’s Knox Matrix platform to detect and contain security threats across connected Galaxy devices. Meanwhile, Secure Wi-Fi gains a cryptographic upgrade designed to withstand future quantum attacks.
KEEP secures AI data
The KEEP system creates isolated encrypted environments within a device’s secure storage area, ensuring each application can only access its own data. Samsung says this mechanism supports features powered by the Galaxy Personal Data Engine, which processes highly contextual data such as user preferences and daily routines directly on the device.
The system is also tightly integrated with Knox Vault, Samsung’s hardware-based secure environment that protects credentials including passwords, PINs and biometric information from being accessed even if the main operating system is compromised. Together, these elements allow AI tools like Now Brief and Smart Gallery search to function without sending user data to external servers.
KEEP now protects several other on-device features, including Smart Suggestions. According to Samsung, this ensures that personal insights remain local and contained, offering a more privacy-resilient base for future AI services on Galaxy smartphones. The company emphasises that the architecture treats privacy as a design principle rather than a user setting.
Knox Matrix expands coverage
Samsung’s Knox Matrix, originally designed to synchronise and secure multiple Galaxy devices, has been updated to proactively respond to high-risk scenarios such as system tampering or identity spoofing.
Under One UI 8, if a connected device is flagged for severe threat exposure, it is automatically signed out of the Samsung Account to prevent unauthorised access to cloud services.
The company has introduced a central security dashboard, labelled ‘Security status of your devices’, to notify users across their Galaxy network. This interface allows users to inspect affected devices and carry out necessary actions. Even devices that have not received recent security updates can now generate alerts, enabling earlier threat detection.
With this approach, Samsung aims to contain potential breaches by cutting off shared services quickly, treating the security posture of one device as potentially impacting the entire ecosystem.
Secure Wi-Fi goes quantum-safe
Samsung is also extending quantum-resistant encryption to Secure Wi-Fi, the company’s privacy-focused networking feature. The updated cryptographic layer strengthens the key exchange process used to initiate encrypted connections, aiming to defend against future attacks enabled by quantum computing.
The rollout follows Samsung’s earlier introduction of Post-Quantum Enhanced Data Protection on the Galaxy S25 series.
Secure Wi-Fi is designed to address the risk of encrypted data being harvested today and decrypted later when quantum processing becomes viable, a method known as “harvest now, decrypt later”.
By updating its network protocols with post-quantum algorithms, Samsung is preparing Galaxy devices for long-term resilience in high-risk environments such as public networks.
Alongside this structural change, Secure Wi-Fi continues to provide data routing through multiple layers and session history tracking, which allows users to see which networks and applications have been secured over time. These features are aimed at maintaining encrypted protection without relying on user intervention.
System safeguards remain central
In addition to the newly announced features, One UI 8 includes continued support for Samsung’s baseline security tools. Knox Vault remains the core of its hardware protection strategy, isolating critical credentials away from the main OS.
Auto Blocker is designed to prevent unauthorised installations and intercept command-line attacks, while Enhanced Theft Protection introduces verification delays and checks in high-risk scenarios such as device theft.
Samsung has also added Advanced Intelligence Settings, enabling users to disable online data processing for AI features entirely. This setting reinforces the company’s strategy of building on-device intelligence that does not require constant network access.
With AI integration increasing across mobile platforms, the company is positioning Galaxy devices to manage localised personalisation while maintaining strong data isolation and future-ready encryption protocols.
