Jamf brings Face ID, Touch ID to the Apple enterprise

Face ID for your work Mac

Jamf has introduced a new application that lets enterprise users authenticate and access their Macs using Face ID on their iPhones.

Face ID for the enterprise

The application, called Jamf Unlock, works with the company’s enterprise-focused Jamf Connect MDM solution to bring Apple’s biometrics to enterprise professionals.

The idea is that this makes use of FaceID and an iPhone to give users easy but secure access to their Macs, apps and data. It makes it possible authenticate and access their Macs without passwords, and because it is tied to their user’s cloud identity dvia Jamf Connect, rather than their personal identity, it enables IT to provide this access to people on workplace devices.

Where we are now, Touch ID or Apple Watch can only unlock Macs if you use the same Apple ID on both.

Jamf Connect helps with that by issuing a certificate to your iOS device so the two devices recognize each other with help from Connect. The system also supports use of Touch ID or even a rotating PIN on their iPhone to gain access.

Passwords aren’t for people

The move reflects continued work across the industry to get minimize use of easily guessed or stolen passwords in favor of password free solutions.

By 2022, Gartner predicts 60% of large and global enterprises, and 90% of mid-sized enterprises, will implement passwordless methods in more than 50% of use cases.

Meanwhile, 80% of all data breaches involve stolen or weak passwords? Single-word passwords or ones involving personal information are often the most culpable, while strong passwords can be difficult for users to remember, and passwords are often reused for multiple resources, increasing vulnerability.

Jamf continues to develop protection for the Mac, including threat detection, anti-virus tools and integrations with Azure and more.

Most recently, the company launched Compliance Reporter, an auditing and compliance solution for macOS that monitors endpoint security settings against common OS hardening benchmarks. The company has also engaged in a series of acquisitions in the enterprise security space.

The remote Apple enterprise

“The security needs of enterprise organizations are changing, as their employees demand to work from the devices and locations they want,” said Josh Stein, director of strategy, security, Jamf.

“Jamf is committed to building the most secure and scalable Apple Enterprise Management platform available and to letting IT and security teams stay compliant with company policies while empowering their end users to be their most productive and protected from whichever device and workspace they choose.”

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