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Samsung seeks to secure tablets

Nicola Mawson
By Nicola Mawson, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 23 Apr 2015
Absolute Computrace will be available on selected Samsung tablets.
Absolute Computrace will be available on selected Samsung tablets.

Samsung Electronics SA and Absolute Software are teaming up to offer tablets with embedded security software, as schools across the country embrace technology in favour of paper.

The solution is a step beyond many current offerings in the market, which are software-based and can be disabled through a reinstallation of the OS, notes Swift Consulting CEO and tech blogger Liron Segev. He explains there are already a number of solutions that can trace stolen devices, such as Google's Find my Phone, but these are software-based and can be circumvented.

Now, Samsung and Absolute Software believe they have come up with a solution to the risk of theft, which the companies say will offer "peace of mind to schools, learners and parents".

The companies have launched Absolute Computrace embedded technology, which is available on a select range of Samsung devices, including the Galaxy Tab 4 10.1. Once loaded and the subscription activated, the software is "self-healing and persistent".

"This means that if the tablet has been stolen, and all the data has been wiped and the Android operating system re-installed, Absolute Computrace will re-activate automatically, ensuring the device can be tracked and managed as long as the device is connected to the Internet."

Segev notes while embedding security software in firmware is a step beyond just a simple tracing app, it can also be disabled if the thieves flush out the firmware. He adds steps to build anti-theft tech into devices are gaining momentum, with manufacturers building in firmware and kill switches in a bid to combat theft.

Samsung adds it is doing its bid to ensure risks are minimised in the education sector. "The education of our country's young learners is of paramount importance," says Paulo Ferreira, director of Enterprise Mobility at Samsung Electronics SA.

School drive

At the start of the new school year, public schools in Gauteng joined many private schools that have already opted for tablets as teaching instruments, with the launch of a pilot project at five schools. This is part of education MEC Panyaza Lesufi's R2 billion drive to take schools paperless.

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Gauteng's project, announced in the middle of last year, will see textbooks and chalkboards being removed from classrooms, and replaced with technology, within the next five years. More than 80 000 tablets have already been delivered to schools.

However, theft of the devices is a serious challenge to the project. The eNCA news channel reported in mid-February that six criminals allegedly broke into Steve Biko Secondary School outside Pretoria, making off with 40 state-issued tablets from a safe after breaking and entering through one of the office windows.

This is despite assurances from Brand SA, which falls under the Department of Communications, in mid-January that Gauteng schools would be kitted with surveillance cameras, while each school would have two armed security officers.

Under Lesufi's project, tablets issued as part of the paperless bid will be fitted with tracking devices, but Department of Education spokesperson Phumla Sekhonyane told eNCA the stolen tablets were not part of the "new phase" government is rolling out.

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