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Bitlocker, Filevault, JAMF, and KACE – Auditable Encryption Verification | Week 9

As you can clearly tell from my previous posts, I am a big fan of automated controls. This week I want to share with you a story of a recent computer upgrade. I had an old 2013 Macbook Air. Our Desktop Engineering team was tasked with rolling out the new OS, Mojave, to all outdated Mac systems. Now my Air was a test Mac I got years ago and never really had much need to upgrade. Through automated controls, specifically a tool called Casper JAMF, our Desktop Eng team was able to tell that my Mac was outdated and needed an upgrade. 

They reached out to me, set up a time to update, and realized that the hardware was simply too old for the new OS. To accommodate they initiated an update procedure. A new MacbookPro was imaged, updated, and given to me. They jumped the gun when they distributed it to me in production however and the disk encryption, FileVault, was not completed before it left the secured image lab. Once again, the JAMF server sent an alert, they reached out, came to my desk, and ensured the encryption process completed. 

Whether you are using Casper JAMF, Dell KACE (for Windows), or another form of system management, having insight into the status of systems and software is incredibly important for companies. Automated controls like these quickly identify policy violations, and well-executed procedures rectify the issues. What’s as important is the ability to log these results. To be able to prove to auditors and regulators that your systems and controls adhere to legal requirements allow businesses to continue doing what they do best.  

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