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7 min readAnyone who manages Apple devices has had at least some contact with Managed Apple IDs. Like personal Apple IDs, the managed kind can be used to access Apple devices and services. But unlike personal IDs, Managed Apple IDs are owned and controlled by the organization, rather than the end user.
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5 min readWhile artificial intelligence (AI) could be a world-changing technology, we’ve also seen some dire warnings about the dangers it might pose. Regardless of what you think about those warnings, as an Apple admin you do need to be mindful of the particular—and real—threats that AI poses to IT and information security here and now. Here’s what you need to know about AI and cybersecurity and what you can do to mitigate the risks.
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10 min readThere’s a lot of information available to Apple admins about the best ways to onboard devices and deploy them to users. We’ve got Automated Device Enrollment, zero-touch deployment, and other workflows that help at the beginning of a device’s lifetime. But what about the other end of the device lifecycle, when you’re ready to move devices out of your organization? Offboarding workflows don't get as much attention.
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5 min readWe’ve talked before about why endpoint detection and response matters and about how important it is for you, as an Apple admin, to have a security solution in place for the devices you manage. You know that the threat landscape—especially for Mac—has changed and that the old complacency about Apple security is no longer viable.
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4 min readAs director of security and compliance at Neural Payments, David Patrick knows he can’t be complacent about the Apple endpoints in his care. “Previously, we could just say, ‘It's an Apple device, there is no malware.’ That just isn't sufficient anymore.”
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6 min readAs an Apple admin, setting up new devices for end users became trickier in the last couple of years. With so many employees suddenly working outside the office, the workflows for equipping them with Apple devices needed to adapt. Personally handing a Mac to each new team member on their first day was no longer always feasible. That's why zero-touch deployments have become more important than ever.
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8 min readShell scripts are indispensable for managing Mac computers. That makes shell scripting a vital skill for Mac admins. If you're one of them, chances are you already know at least the rudiments of scripting. But for many admins, it doesn’t go much beyond that: They might know enough to copy and paste someone else’s script from StackOverflow, make a few tweaks to it, then cross their fingers and hope it works. But no matter their level of scripting expertise, they can always learn more.
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7 min readMac malware has been around as long as the Mac itself. But historically, the problem received little attention from Apple and its customers. That neglect was largely benign because, while Mac malware did exist, it remained relatively rare. The examples that did proliferate tended not to carry the same risks as their Windows counterparts; more often, they were proofs of concept rather than genuine dangers.
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5 min readWhen more companies began letting their employees work from home a few years ago, device security and productivity became more important than ever for IT. Beyond just figuring out how to make sure remote team members could get their work done, admins needed to guard company data against the unique security risks posed by this new work environment.
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6 min readThe IT world loves its three-letter acronyms. As part of that world, Apple device management is no different. If you deploy and manage fleets of Mac computers and iPhone or iPad devices for an organization, you’ve no doubt heard plenty of them. In particular, if you’ve spent any time researching ways to manage devices in your organization, you may have seen references to:
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11 min readApple Business Manager is a critical tool for anyone who manages Apple devices. It provides a critical link between your Apple device management solution and your devices, enabling things like Automated Device Enrollment (ADE). Add in its utility in distributing apps and other content at scale and other content and its ability to federate with user directories, and Apple Business Manager clearly becomes essential for any Mac admin.
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7 min readManaged Apple Accounts are Apple Accounts (formerly Apple IDs) that your organization owns, controls, and assigns to users. Like any Apple Account, Managed Apple Accounts can be used to sign in to devices and services.
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6 min readBack in the day, organizational security was built around the idea of a firewall: The security system blocked access to resources within the organization from external bad actors. Originally, that paradigm was literal: You established a perimeter and kept people from outside the building from accessing the network—and the resources attached to it—inside.
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5 min readSecuring sensitive company data is one of the top priorities for any IT department. For businesses that run on Apple, FileVault is an essential tool for Mac security. By encrypting all of the information on a Mac computer’s startup disk, FileVault makes company information unreadable to unauthorized users.
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7 min readWhen it comes to Mac malware, IT and security staff are well aware of the most common infection vectors: malicious emails or attachments, Trojanized applications, or attackers leveraging both known and unknown exploits. Apple consistently retools each version of its operating system to include better intrinsic defenses against such threats.
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