Jamf is kicking off JNUC 2019 today with some exciting announcements for IT departments who manage Apple devices in the enterprise and K–12. Today, they have launched Jamf Protect, an enterprise endpoint protection solution build from the ground up for macOS.
Jamf Protect extends the built-in macOS security tools like XProtect and Gatekeeper for improved reporting, compliance, and security posture. IT departments can receive real-time alerts to analyze activity on the device and choose whether to block, isolate, or remediate threats. If you’re not in IT, you are probably hoping your IT department doesn’t install this software because it’ll mess with your machine. Fear not, as Jamf Protect works as a kextless agent and uses minimal resources. It’s using Apple’s Endpoint Security Framework, so it’ll always be day-one ready for new versions of macOS. As someone who both manages Apple devices and loves using them, I was excited to hear that it would be natively integrated into macOS. Most of the endpoint solutions in the enterprise are focused on PC environments, so even if that have a Mac counterpart, it’ll be half baked compared to the Windows version. Windows has 80% of the enterprise market share, so companies aren’t going to put 100% of their resources into a product for only 20% of the market.
“Because of Jamf’s Apple-first and Apple-only approach, Jamf Protect is unique in how it provides a granular view of native macOS security capabilities and an analysis of real-time events, which is essential to helping security teams gain visibility into their Mac fleet,” said Josh Stein, Director of Product Strategy, Jamf Protect. “Jamf Protect monitors for system-wide activity, enabling security teams to take action against Mac-based threats which may otherwise go unnoticed, all while allowing organizations to embrace new OS functionality from day one.”
As Mac use continues to increase in the enterprise, expanding ways in which IT managers can ensure security and compliance is vital for continued growth. Jamf Protect will be tightly integrated with Jamf Pro, but it’s actually MDM agnostic and will work for organizations that are using competitors’ products. Jamf Protect allows you to have granular control over what data is collected and where it’s sent.
“As Mac continues to grow in the enterprise, a security solution focused on increasing an organization’s Mac security posture is needed more than ever,” said Dean Hager, CEO, Jamf. “We’re excited to bring the same Apple expertise to security that we’ve brought to device management, and continue to fulfill our mission of helping organizations succeed with Apple.”
With the addition of Jamf Protect, Jamf’s product line is in a nice place. They have solutions for small businesses (Jamf Now), schools (Jamf School), and larger enterprise organizations (Jamf Pro). Last year, they added Jamf Connect to help with single sign-on across iOS and macOS.
Jamf Protect works across all flavors of Jamf MDM to provide enterprise-level security solutions. Although macOS is very secure, users can still install rogue applications. With Jamf Protect, IT departments will be able to respond quickly to threats.
A good example of how Jamf Protect could be used was with the Zoom vulnerability earlier this year. This announcement comes after Jamf purchased Digita Security earlier this year. Jamf Protect will provide IT departments with the visibility they are often legally required to have while maintaining a great end-user experience.
I am at JNUC this week, and I am excited to learn more about what’s new in the Apple device management world.
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