Threat Modeling: Practical Mac Security in the Zero Trust Era

As Apple adoption grows across modern enterprises, so do the threats targeting Mac. During their JNUC 2025 session, Yoshikazu Hayasaka of Secure Sky Technology and Mayu Shirai of NOT A HOTEL Inc. shared a practical approach to applying threat modeling in a Mac‑centric, Zero Trust world. Their joint session emphasized how organizations can visualize risk, map controls to Jamf’s security ecosystem and demonstrate measurable risk reduction to leadership.

Key takeaways

• Build a Mac‑focused threat model to identify and prioritize real risks.
• Map threats to Jamf Protect, Jamf Pro and Jamf Connect policies.
• Translate technical controls into Zero Trust metrics that prove value to stakeholders.

Why threat modeling matters for Mac environments

Threat modeling isn’t just for large security teams – it’s a framework any organization can use to understand what’s at risk and how to defend it. Hayasaka explained that Mac environments, like any enterprise platform, face growing exposure due to:

• SaaS adoption
• Hybrid work
• and Evolving social‑engineering tactics

Attackers increasingly exploit misconfigurations and unmonitored endpoints, particularly in BYOD and remote setups.

Rather than applying one‑size‑fits‑all baselines, threat modeling allows IT and Security teams to focus on specific risks that matter most. Such as unmanaged Macs, password reuse and unpatched VPNs. It aligns security priorities to the organization’s unique architecture and data flows.

Defining the process: four key questions

Hayasaka outlined four guiding questions for any threat modeling effort:

1. What are we working on? Define the system scope and visualize data flow.
2. What can go wrong? Identify potential threats using data‑flow diagrams and threat intelligence.
3. What are we doing about it? Evaluate existing controls and design mitigations.
4. Did we do a good job? Review and update the model regularly as environments evolve.

Using these steps, Mayu demonstrated how her corporate IT team modeled threats across their Mac fleet, SaaS tools and on‑premises systems. They visualized data flow between endpoints, CRM systems and VPNs to identify where sensitive customer data might be at risk.

Mapping threats to Jamf controls

After listing risks, like malware installation, password compromise, and outdated VPNs, the speakers mapped each to Jamf controls and workflows.

• Jamf Protect: Detects and isolates Mac malware, integrates with Apple’s Gatekeeper and XProtect and blocks command‑and‑control traffic through secure DNS and Secure Web Gateway (SWG) features.
• Jamf Pro: Enforces patch management, remote lockdowns and configuration compliance.
• Jamf Connect: Adds identity‑based access controls, temporary admin privileges and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) enforcement to reduce exposure from non-compliant endpoints and compromised credentials.

Together, these tools form a layered defense that helps teams mitigate high‑impact risks faster and validate those protections through unified telemetry.

Visualizing and reporting Zero Trust progress

Threat modeling also improves communication between security, IT and leadership. By documenting each risk, control, and residual exposure, teams can track how specific Jamf policies contribute to measurable Zero Trust outcomes. For example, reducing unauthorized access or faster patch compliance. This risk‑to‑control mapping provides the language executives need to understand progress beyond raw alerts or audit logs.

As Shirai noted, visualizing risks clarified priorities for her organization: “Once I could see the threats mapped to our systems, I could plan improvements more efficiently.” That clarity helps IT leaders report not only what controls exist, but how they continuously reduce organizational risk.

Continuous improvement through collaboration

Threat modeling shouldn’t be a one‑time event.

The speakers encouraged teams to repeat the process:

• Whenever systems change
• new SaaS tools are added
• or Jamf features evolve

It’s also a collaborative exercise – bringing together endpoint security specialists, IT admins and business leaders to ensure that security measures align with real‑world operations.

By combining Jamf Protect, Jamf Pro and Jamf Connect under a Zero Trust model, organizations continuously refine their defenses and communicate measurable impact.