Deploy Device Protection with NinjaOne

Use NinjaOne MDM to deploy Aikido Device Protection across your managed macOS fleet with the required permissions in place.

Installation

1. 1

   What you'll need

   Before starting, make sure you have the following from the Aikido Device Protection dashboard:

   • The Aikido Device Protection .mobileconfig (downloaded from the Aikido Device Protection dashboard)
   • The Aikido Device Protection installer (.pkg file, downloaded from the dashboard)

   If you're missing any of these, go back to the Aikido Device Protection dashboard, click Connect Device, and complete the pre-flight steps.

2. 2

   Add the Aikido Device Protection configuration profile

   1. Open the .mobileconfig file in a text editor to copy its XML contents.
   2. In the NinjaOne Admin Portal, click Administration in the left navigation pane, open the Policies drop-down, and select MDM Policies.
   3. Click Create New Policy (or edit an existing macOS policy) and select Apple as the platform with macOS as the device type.
   4. Give the policy a name (e.g. "Aikido Device Protection").
   5. Open the Custom payload section and click + Add payload.
   6. In the Add payload dialog, enter a name (e.g. "Aikido Device Protection") and paste the full XML contents of the .mobileconfig file into the Content field.
   7. Click Update to save the payload, then save the policy.
   8. Assign the policy to the target macOS device group.

   NinjaOne deploys each custom payload as a separate MDM profile to the device. The Aikido .mobileconfig already contains all required payloads, so a single Add payload entry is enough.

   This profile allows the Aikido Device Protection system extension to load silently, enables the network content filter, and stops users from disabling background services in System Settings → Login Items.

3. 3

   Upload the Aikido Device Protection installer

   1. In the NinjaOne Admin Portal, go to Administration → Library → Automation.
   2. Click + Add and select Installation.
   3. In the Install Application dialog, fill in the following:
      • Name: Aikido Device Protection
      • Description: Aikido Device Protection
      • Operating system: macOS
      • Installer: Upload the Aikido Device Protection .pkg file.
      • Run as: System
   4. Save the installation package.
4. 4

   Deploy to your devices

   1. Assign the Aikido Device Protection MDM policy (containing the configuration profile) to the target device group.
   2. Verify it is installed on a test device.
   3. Deploy the Aikido Device Protection installation package to the same devices using an on-demand run or a Run once scheduled task.

   When you schedule the deployment, use the Run once option (or set Ends to After and Occurrences to 1). A recurring schedule reinstalls the package on every run, which can redeploy an outdated build. The package should only be installed once per device.

5. 5

   Reboot devices after installation

   Restart your target devices after the agent installation completes. The agent fully activates on the next boot.

6. 6

   Verify the deployment

   On a test device, confirm:

   1. The system extension is activated:

      systemextensionsctl list | grep aikido

      Expect to see the extension marked [activated enabled].

   2. Open System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions and confirm the Aikido Device Protection entries cannot be toggled off.

Troubleshooting