Learn how to secure your mac devices using Apple’s built-in safety features and acquire easy device management with Scalefusion MDM.
Several businesses today prefer adopting the Apple technology for their enterprises compared to the traditional Windows environment. The global conflict between conventional PCs and Mac computers has led organizations to wonder which alternative is best for their business requirements. One of the major reasons that enterprises have switched to Apple devices in addition to its build quality and ease of use is the built-in security features that Apple devices offer. Mac devices are privacy-forward, secure, and can be easily deployed.
With the surge of Mac devices being adopted, enterprises are faced with a need to implement an MDM solution to manage their Mac device fleets in order to increase their IT efficiency and overall employee productivity.
What built-in tools does Apple provide for Mac security?
1. Hardware & Software security tools
Since a device’s hardware and software are its key components, its security is crucial. For all-around device safety, both hardware and software need to be efficiently protected.
Mac devices have a built-in Secure Enclave, a dedicated hardware component that is discrete from the device’s main processor. This provides the device with an additional layer of security, isolated boot process and keeps confidential data secure even if the Application Processor kernel gets compromised.
Regular software updates are the easiest way to keep the device’s software secure. macOS auto-notifies its users to update their software to the latest and safest versions.
2. App security
Mac device users have access to Apple’s App Store to download sandboxed and secured applications. In addition, Apple’s inherent Gatekeeper technology makes application security easy as it ensures that only safe software and apps are allowed to run on Mac devices.
When users try to access apps or installer packages that are not downloaded from the App Store, the Gatekeeper verifies the integrity of the software before allowing them to run on the devices. Only when the Gatekeeper tool has cross-checked the background of the software and ensured that it is free of malware does it allow the user to run the app on the device.
Scalefusion MDM enables IT admins to configure Gatekeeper settings from the dashboard. In addition, Scalefusion’s App management enables IT admins to directly select and push apps from the App Store integrated into the Scalefusion dashboard on their enterprise’s device fleets.
3. Data security
Apple devices prompt the users to grant permissions to apps for accessing documents, downloads, as well as the iCloud drive. Whenever an app requires access to the device’s camera, microphone, etc. the users are notified and asked to grant permission to ensure that the users are aware of the apps accessing their device’s data.
Furthermore, FileVault is a disk encryption program offered by macOS that encrypts your device’s data to protect the device from unauthorized access. Scalefusion MDM allows IT admins to configure passwords and Recovery keys from the dashboard to secure the device’s data even if the drive was removed from the device and plugged into another.
4. Privacy protection
Apple’s Safari web browser offers an in-built powerful privacy protection technology that offers an array of features to safeguard user’s privacy. It includes Intelligent tracking prevention, Privacy report to highlight the blocked trackers, password monitoring, social widget tracking and much more. In addition to this, users can leverage Private browsing to search or browse incognito.
Safari uses iCloud Keychain, a password management system designed to securely store passwords on the user’s device. It automatically stores and updates the login credentials, passcodes, account numbers, and other confidential information across all your Mac devices.
5. Network security
Mac devices have an in-built Firewall to protect the device’s network from unwanted computers trying to make a connection with the device. The firewall allows blocking of incoming connections, permits specific applications, secure devices in Stealth Mode to prevent them from responding to probing requests.
Scalefusion MDM enables IT admins to configure the Firewall settings, attest to network security, and push trusted WiFi networks on devices from the dashboard.
macOS detects malware with its built-in antivirus software called XProtect. When XProtect encounters malware in an application, it is instantly blocked and the user is notified to delete it from the device.
6. Anywhere security
Mac users can leverage the built-in Find My app, native to Apple devices. Users can set up the Find My app on their Mac devices and configure passcodes or erase the device’s data remotely if the device ever gets lost or stolen. If lost, the Find My app helps to locate the device using Bluetooth signals.
However, if users have not set up the Find my app on their Mac devices, they can still protect their iCould data and online accounts like social media and emails by changing their Apple ID passwords.
Additionally, Mac systems are built with Activation locks. In case of device theft or loss, unauthorized users are prevented access to the device. They cannot remove the Find My app or erase and reactivate the device without entering the Apple ID password or device passcode.
7. Additional features
Apple offers extended security features suitable for specific uses cases like the Parental Control built-in to configure content and privacy restrictions and set time-based curfews. Scalefusion Mac Management Solution enables IT admins, especially of the Education industry to leverage these configurations and settings straight from the dashboard.
Scalefusion MDM also enables IT admins to undertake Content Filtering with high utility settings on the dashboard including website whitelisting, adding web-clips to dock, restricting the use of Siri and dictation, and the option to hide profanity in the dictionary to make the content accessed on specific Mac devices appropriate for students.
Closing Lines
While Mac devices have a plethora of built-in security features that make them a favored choice of several enterprises who consider their business security indispensable, clubbing Mac devices with an MDM solution is the most convenient option for organizations to wirelessly execute these security deliverables on a large device fleet.
Scalefusion MDM supports a large set of Apple’s built-in security features for Mac devices and helps IT admins of organizations obtain a unified platform to manage and implement these features on their designated device fleet, conveniently.
