Over the last few years, Portside has been growing both organically and through a series of strategic acquisitions. As the company continued acquiring businesses and expanding its product portfolio, management saw the need to develop a more mature enterprise security strategy. So, in August 2023, they hired Paschall Freeman as Portside\u2019s inaugural chief information security officer (CISO). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI joined as Portside\u2019s first CISO to build a robust, enterprise-rated security program, largely from scratch,\u201d Freeman says. \u201cMuch of that work involved establishing a unified security strategy across each of the portfolio companies \u2014 many of which were smaller and didn\u2019t have in-house security expertise.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the company\u2019s inception, Portside used Mac devices exclusively, managing them with Jamf. But as the company continued acquiring other businesses, they wound up with more and more Windows devices to manage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe became a 65\u201335 Mac-to-Windows shop,\u201d Freeman explains. \u201cSo we really needed the tooling to be able to manage our Windows devices to the same degree and with the same simplicity as we could with JAMF.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since he didn\u2019t want to have to use different tools to manage Mac and Windows devices, Freeman began looking for a unified device management<\/a> solution that would enable him to manage both operating systems from one place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nI did a number of proof-of-concept trials with a number of different providers that could manage both Windows and Mac devices. And what I found is that JumpCloud was the only solution that just worked when I deployed it. The configuration was super simple.<\/p>\nPaschall Freeman, CISO<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
In addition to getting more control over their devices, the team was also hoping to have an easier time meeting and demonstrating compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAmong the problems we were trying to solve was making sure that we were managing our fleet intelligently while also meeting the compliance objectives we need to meet and demonstrate for our SOC 2 audit<\/a>,\u201d Freeman says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shoring up devices & looking to leverage more features <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Today, Freeman is using JumpCloud to manage 170 users out of the 300-person team that\u2019s been assembled via acquisitions, with plans to complete the roll-out to all remaining users over the next couple of months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe device management component has been an extremely useful and necessary tool.<\/p>\nPaschall Freeman, CISO<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe device management component has been an extremely useful and necessary tool,\u201d Freeman says. \u201cI frankly had some concerns in the beginning that it would not work as well decoupled from identity management<\/a> and it\u2019s not been a problem at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Streamlining onboarding & offboarding<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Freeman is using JumpCloud to streamline both the onboarding and offboarding processes<\/a>, baking more security into Portside\u2019s day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n[The remote wipe capability]’s been a really good addition to our process in terms of fleet management.<\/p>\nPaschall Freeman, CISO<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
On the onboarding side, Freeman is able to ensure new hires have secure devices from their first day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re using JumpCloud to simplify the deployment of our antivirus solution, particularly on Macs,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re able to push the security profile that puts all the settings in place for our antivirus, antimalware, and endpoint monitoring solution,\u201d Freeman says. \u201cIn the past, when somebody got a Mac, it was a brand-new setup. They had to install the software and follow our onboarding checklist to configure a complex set of application permissions. Now we can just push that configuration profile directly from JumpCloud so all they have to do is run the installer and then it\u2019s done and then they don\u2019t have to think about it anymore.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For offboarding, Freeman is able to clean devices to make sure there isn\u2019t anything proprietary on them before churning employees send them back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll use the remote wipe capability to wipe the machine before it even gets sent back to use so that it\u2019s in a good state and doesn\u2019t have any data on it while in transit,\u201d Freeman says. \u201cThat\u2019s been a really good addition to our process in terms of fleet management.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Improving IT workflows with policies & commands<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Currently, Portside doesn\u2019t have a dedicated IT help desk; Freeman and the company\u2019s DevOps team help colleagues navigate IT issues \u2014 another area where JumpCloud saves the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve been trying to troubleshoot things on user machines either pushing those commands or jumping into the remote terminal through Remote Assist<\/a> to collect the data they need so that they can help the user and do so even transparently, which has been a really invaluable function \u2014 particularly since we are an entirely distributed company,\u201d Freeman explains. \u201cHaving the Remote Assist capability has been really quite helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Portside is also using device groups to push out policies to developer machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bolstering compliance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
JumpCloud also helps Portside bolster its compliance position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe can push out technical configuration policies \u2014 there must be a screensaver, there must be a password, the firewall must be enabled, disk encryption must be enabled and enforced and can\u2019t be turned off,\u201d Freeman says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nWe can get a report out of JumpCloud when we need it for which devices are in compliance versus which aren\u2019t and then go follow up on why that\u2019s the case.<\/p>\nPaschall Freeman, CISO<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
When it\u2019s time to pass an audit, Freeman can easily obtain the evidence they need from JumpCloud to demonstrate things like whether antivirus is installed on certain devices, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scaling together<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Freeman has already used JumpCloud to shore up device management. As he looks ahead, he\u2019s planning to explore the platform\u2019s identity management piece further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of the things that makes JumpCloud really attractive is that it does have the identity component that we could implement and then have it manage all the Active Directories that are sitting out in acquired Company A, the Oktas in acquired Company B, and the Entra ID\u2019s over in Company C,\u201d Freeman says. \u201cWe don\u2019t have a solution for that yet, and that\u2019s something that we are going to need to address soon.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once identity management is in place, Freeman is also looking to integrate Google Workspace, GitHub, Slack, VPN servers, and Jira with JumpCloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will definitely want to explore how we can use the zero trust features<\/a> to secure how people are accessing company systems and data because we\u2019ve got people all over the world in Australia, New Zealand, India, some parts of the near east, and all over Europe,\u201d Freeman says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On top of this, Freeman also hopes to deploy\u00a0JumpCloud Go\u2122<\/a> to further strengthen the organization\u2019s security posture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What would Freeman say to other organizations considering a solution like JumpCloud?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About JumpCloud<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
JumpCloud\u00ae delivers a unified open directory platform that makes it easy to securely manage identities, devices, and access across your organization. With JumpCloud, IT teams and MSPs enable users to work securely from anywhere and manage their Windows, Apple, Linux, and Android devices from a single platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To see the power of JumpCloud yourself, request a demo<\/a> or start a 30-day trial<\/a> today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"