Key Takeaways
- Samsung’s Project Infinity works to protect devices from countless real-world bad actors.
- The Cyber Threat Intelligence, Red team, Blue team, and Purple team all have distinct roles in advancing security.
- Samsung’s use of ethical hacking to keep users safe is a good reason to consider its smartphones.
The Cyber Threat Intelligence task force isn’t some Sci-Fi trope. It’s real, it works for Samsung, and it engages in high-level hacking in countries around the world. Rather than mastermind a government conspiracy or pose as underworld runners to expose kingpins, though, it works to keep your Android device protected from the most novel, advanced, and dumb-luck-reliant exploits on the planet. Here’s how (via Samsung Newsroom).
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Project Infinity’s multi-faceted security approach
Black hat, white hat, red hat, purple hat: hackers these days probably have plenty of style, but these labels don’t refer to headwear choices. Black hat hackers are the bad guys, who break into systems maliciously and usually for personal gain. Purple hats, on the other hand, hack their own systems to learn about and improve their resilience. Red hats get a lot of press, too, as the vengeful vigilantes who flout ethics rules to make an impact on their enemies or society as a whole.
White hats, though, are the good guys. White hat hackers employ generally ethical means, while working above-board for organizations, to improve security for companies, end users, or both. Those white hat hackers make up Samsung’s Project Infinity, which leverages some of the most powerful systems security minds to keep your Galaxy phone safe from bad actors.
CTI, Red vs. Blue, and the Purple wizards
Cyber Threat Intelligence is one of four arms of Samsung’s cutting-edge anti-hacker hackers. It works broadly and specifically to advance security by scouring illicit digital marketplaces and simulating real-world transactions to catch exploits where they’re popularized, and where they actually happen. Remember the note-taking app that demanded access to your camera, microphone, photos, and birth certificate? CTI’s digging into that software, and those permissions, to make sure everything’s on the up-and-up.
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RED and BLUE feed on the classic military war games strategy of aggressor vs. defender. The red team engages in attacks, the blue team thwarts them, the red team develops new strategies to continue the assault, and the arms race continues. These aggressions and defenses spread from zero-day exploits all the way to the comprehensive effects of unstoppable methods like social engineering.
Then there’s PURPLE, the Navy SEAL-type specialists with access to the most sensitive intel and sophisticated weaponry. Armed with the best Samsung has to offer, they move in and out of enemy and ally roles, and work with third parties to, as Samsung explains, “address issues nobody else can.” Purple team members are not only among the most skilled in the industry, they’re also among the most highly vetted for strength of character. These are, ostensibly, the people we want keeping our digital devices secure.
The secure, confident takeaway
It’s more than just nerds hitting keyboards
Not all hackers want to wear a specific hat, but Samsung goes to great lengths to find the most talented, dedicated tech breakers, and keeps them on its side. After all, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, right? The Korean tech giant has the resources to employ these bleeding-edge experts and lure them away from the underworld (hopefully for good), so it only makes sense they’re trading their black, gray, red, or green hats for something a little lighter and bolder.
You’ll find a little more detail on Samsung Newsroom’s post, as well as some insightful, personal quotes from actual team members. Possibly most uplifting and reassuring is that a decent number of them aren’t just doing their jobs, they’re doing it because security is important, and everybody deserves a safe platform to work from. Hack on, white hats.
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