Supercharge Integrations with the Absolute API Library and Absolute Connector for ServiceNow

Organizations of all sizes, whether it be small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) or larger enterprises utilize a variety of software products to enable their business operations, boost end user experience, and fortify their security posture. From an IT and asset management perspective, tools such as Unified Endpoint Management (UEM), Remote Desktop Management (RDM), and Mobile Device Management (MDM) are utilized to inventory endpoints and enforce device policies. Meanwhile, products such as Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), Vulnerability Management, and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) are used to secure endpoints and network components from today’s increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. While these products cater to their own distinct use cases, their simultaneous usage often leads to software bloat on the endpoint, impacting both IT and security teams, as well as the end user.

At any given time, there are on average 11.7 security applications running on an endpoint. This can pose significant challenges to a practitioner in enforcing policies, maintaining security posture, and responding to a perceived device or security risk. IT and security administrators alike are tasked with monitoring inventory and security related datapoints across multiple dashboards from different products to obtain a complete picture of their environment. In addition, in situations of heightened risk such as when a high priority device used by an executive goes missing, they are expected to respond swiftly by executing a set of device actions, which may only be possible by logging into different management consoles. These may include freezing the device, running a script to limit user permissions, deleting specific files containing sensitive corporate information, and potentially even wiping the device if the situation demands it. In perilous situations, executing these actions in a swift and seamless manner can often be the difference between a minor incident and a full-blown security event.

To overcome these challenges, IT and security teams require the ability to integrate datasets through a single management console and allow to trigger actions from within the same platform rather than having to switch between different applications. As part of the Absolute Secure Endpoint 7.21 release, Absolute has made significant enhancements for customers to supercharge integrations with other software products in their environments. Specifically, these include:

Expansion of the Absolute API Library

Allows customers to perform actions like device wipe, file delete, unenroll, and end user messaging without manually having to access the Absolute Mobile App or Console and instead simply calling those APIs to trigger the desired action. This dramatically increases flexibility for customers and partners by allowing them to integrate our device actions into their existing workflows, significantly improving the efficiency of their existing workflows and enhancing their automation capabilities. Practitioners can also sync all custom data sets they have configured through the Absolute DataExplorer to be viewed via their other applications.

Absolute Connector for ServiceNow

Enables joint customers to access the comprehensive asset intelligence and single source of truth provided by Absolute within their ServiceNow platform environment. With a digital tether embedded in the firmware of endpoint devices, Absolute is able to deliver enhanced visibility and telemetry that enables organizations to respond to service requests, supplement their ServiceNow workflows, and rapidly demonstrate compliance more efficiently. With the rollout of the next-generation Absolute Connector for ServiceNow™, users are not only able to gain real-time access to Absolute asset data for devices with out-of-date or inaccurate data in the configuration management database (CMDB) but are also in a position to submit the following device actions directly from their ServiceNow instance: freeze a device, unfreeze a device, run an Absolute Reach script, and/or unenroll a device. This allows users to leverage Absolute endpoint resilience capabilities to detect and automatically remediate risks and minimize “drift” between their desired and actual security and compliance posture without the need for manual intervention or the need to access and perform actions across multiple management consoles.

Key use cases for IT and security administrators

• Device Visibility Enhancement: Obtain a wider visibility across the ServiceNow environment, simplifying service response workflows and enhancing end user experience.
• Inventory Enrichment: Update asset inventory for Windows and Mac devices through Absolute’s diverse device telemetry.
• Endpoint Hygiene Status: Monitor critical security vitals, including anti-virus and encryption status, and automatically remediate deficiencies to maintain endpoint compliance across the entire device fleet.
• OS Migration Readiness: Identify OS build versions deployed to prepare for and execute secure OS updates and migration.
• Always-On Control: Empower administrators to have always-on control across the device fleet from within the ServiceNow platform by being able to freeze a device, unfreeze a device, run an Absolute Reach script, and/or unenroll a device.

Apart from these integration updates, the Absolute Secure Endpoint 7.21 release also expands the Absolute Application Resilience Library and adds a new report for customers to better manage Device Freeze requests. For more information about the release, check out the release summary page and release notes.