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Proxy - Microsoft Intune - Distributing configuration for macOS

This article describes how to integrate macOS devices with SurePath AI using the Microsoft Intune

Updated over 2 months ago

SurePath AI Proxy Integration for macOS via Microsoft Intune

This document describes how to configure Microsoft Intune to distribute the SurePath AI proxy PAC URL and root CA certificate to MacOS devices.

Supported platforms

  • MacOS 13.0 and later

About this document

The configurations in this document cover how to create the Intune policy that distributes the SurePath AI Proxy PAC URL and the SurePath AI trusted root CA certificate on macOS devices. It does not cover how to enroll devices in Microsoft Intune or administer other aspects of the Microsoft Intune platform.

The SurePath AI PAC file

SurePath AI distributes its proxy information via a Proxy Auto-Config (PAC) file. This PAC file contains all the information needed to direct only generative AI traffic to the SurePath AI proxy service while sending other traffic via their normal route.

The use of a PAC file also allows SurePath AI to update the list of generative AI domains. Most operating systems and browsers will request the PAC file every 1-2 hours and if a new file can’t be retrieved the current one will continue to be used.

The SurePath AI root CA certificate

Just like other network security and SASE vendors, certificate trust allows SurePath AI to intercept and apply policy to connections to generative AI website. The SurePath AI root CA certificate needs to be trusted by all devices that need to be governed by SurePath AI.

Configuring Microsoft Intune

All configuration in this section takes place within the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center located at https://endpoint.microsoft.com and unless otherwise stated, all instructions start from this URL.

Prerequisites

The SurePath AI proxy PAC URL and root CA certificate needed for these steps can be downloaded from https://admin.surepath.ai:

  • Click the Organization menu, under Configure section, on the left

  • Select the Integrations tab

  • The SurePath AI Root CA Certificate is available in the File Downloads section

    • Download the certificate using the CER option

  • The SurePath AI Proxy PAC URL is available in the Proxy and Provider URLs section

    • Copy the URL using the copy icon on the right side of the text box

Intune policy for PAC URL distribution

  • Navigate to Devices - Configuration

  • Select Create - New Policy

  • For Platform select macOS

  • For Profile type select Settings catalog and click Create

  • On the Basics step, enter a Name (and Description if desired) and click Next

  • On the Configuration settings step, click Add setting

    • In the Settings picker search bar, type Global HTTP and press enter

    • Select Proxies > Global HTTP Proxy from the search results

    • In the Setting name section, select Proxy Type

    • In the left hand area a new configuration area should appear

    • For Proxy Type select Auto

    • For Proxy PAC URL enter the Proxy PAC URL obtained in the prerequisite section

    • Click Next

  • On the Scope tags step, select any applicable scope tags and click Next

  • On the Assignments step, add all the users and/or groups to which you want to apply the proxy policy and click Next

    • This is a user-based policy so the assignment should be done via groups of users rather than devices

  • On the Review + create step confirm the configuration is correct and click Create

Policy for Trusted Root CA distribution

  • Navigate to Devices - Configuration

  • Select Create - New Policy

  • For Platform select macOS

  • For Profile type select Templates

  • From the Template name menu select Trusted certificate and click Create

  • On the Basics step, enter a Name (and Description if desired) and click Next

  • On the Configuration settings step, click the text box that says Select a valid .cer file and then browse to and select the SurePath AI Root CA Certificate retrieved in the prerequisite section then click Next

  • On the Assignments step, add all the devices and/or groups to which you want to apply the certificate policy and click Next

    • This is a device-based policy so the assignment should be done via groups of devices rather than users

  • On the Review + create step confirm the configuration is correct and click Create

Verifying the SurePath AI integration

SurePath AI provides a tool for verifying that an endpoint is configured to properly integrate with SurePath AI's platform. After completing the steps above and verifying the configuration has been deployed to the desired devices administrators can verify the integration by visiting https://ready.surepath.ai.

Interpreting results

A test will be run as soon as the page is loaded. If both tests show green Valid results, the endpoint is properly integrated and GenAI traffic originating from that endpoint will be processed by SurePath AI.

If the Certificate Trust test shows a red Invalid result, it means that the SurePath AI root certificate is not trusted by the device or browser. This could be the result of certificate not being deployed to the device yet. Please check the device's local certificate trust store for the SurePath AI Root CA certificate. If the certificate has been deployed (and/or verified installed), it's possible the device might need to be restarted for the browser to read the newly added SurePath AI root CA certificate.

If the Network Configuration test shows a red Invalid result, it means that the SurePath AI platform is not receiving traffic from the endpoint. This is most likely due to the network configuration not being pushed to the device. Some browsers or applications, like Firefox, ignore system-level proxy settings and have internal proxy settings that will need to be configured separately from the system-level settings that are configured in this document.

Please reach out to your SurePath AI account team if you have any questions or issues with the SurePath AI integration.

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