(By Balachander) General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE:GD) and Samsung Electronics entered into a partnership to provide commerical smartphones with defense-grade cyber and information security technologies.
Under the arrangement, Falls Church, Virginia-based General Dynamics will integrate its secure technologies into the Samsung products are similar to those trusted to protect information classified from the Secret level and below for the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, federal agencies and coalition partners
The companies will provide mobile users with commercial off-the-shelf wireless products that enable secure Internet browsing and access to government networks.
General Dynamics said its C4 Systems unit will integrate its defense-grade security technologies into the family of Samsung Approved for Enterprise (SAFE) smartphones and tablet computers.
The enhanced Samsung products should be available by mid-2013, the companies noted.
These SAFE devices will also be upgraded with the new Samsung Secure Android platform to help customers access secure networks. These devices with defense-grade security will join General Dynamics C4 Systems' growing portfolio of commercial broadband solutions and networking products.
"Samsung's new secure platform is equipped with FIPS-certified VPN and on-device encryption, secure separation of work spaces, fortified mobile device management (MDM) and integrity management features, said Injong Rhee, Vice President, Global Head of Enterprise Strategy and Engineering Groups.
GD shares fell 1.27 percent to trade at $63.65 on Wednesday.