ShadowLock

Product Introduction

1. Overview: ShadowLock is a specialized Shadow AI Detection and Governance platform built for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and internal IT teams. It provides comprehensive visibility and control over the use of unapproved Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, chatbots, browser extensions, and embedded AI features across an organization's endpoints.
2. Value: The primary value is risk mitigation. ShadowLock transforms unknown, high-risk AI usage into a manageable and auditable process, preventing data leaks and ensuring compliance with standards like HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA by blocking the exfiltration of sensitive information to public AI services.

Main Features

1. Real-time Detection & Classification: Utilizes an endpoint agent and network inspection to discover all active AI applications, including public chatbots (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini), desktop apps (Ollama, LM Studio), browser extensions, and AI features within SaaS platforms, categorizing them by risk level.
2. Policy-Based Blocking & Control: Allows administrators to create granular policies to block specific AI tools, websites, or data categories. For example, it can prevent a user from pasting customer PII into a personal ChatGPT account while allowing use of an enterprise-approved AI coding assistant.
3. Comprehensive Audit Trail: Provides detailed logs of all detected AI interactions, including user, application, data type accessed (if classified), and action taken (blocked, allowed). This creates an audit trail essential for incident response, compliance reporting, and forensic investigation.

Problems Solved

1. Challenge: The proliferation of Shadow AI, where employees use unsanctioned AI tools with sensitive corporate data, creating significant legal, compliance, and intellectual property risks with zero visibility for the organization.
2. Audience: This is critical for MSPs who must manage security for multiple client tenants, and internal IT/Security teams responsible for data protection in industries like healthcare, finance, and professional services.
3. Scenario: An employee pastes client financial records into a personal Claude chat to "summarize them." Without ShadowLock, this action is invisible. ShadowLock detects the sensitive data pattern, blocks the transmission, and alerts the admin, preventing a potential GDPR breach.

Unique Advantages

1. Vs Competitors: Unlike generic DLP or network security tools, ShadowLock is purpose-built for the Shadow AI problem. It offers deeper inspection of AI-specific traffic patterns and application behaviors, and its policy engine understands the context of AI tool usage.
2. Innovation: ShadowLock combines an endpoint agent for deep visibility with cloud-based policy management, delivering enterprise-grade controls without the complexity of traditional agent-based security stacks. It is architected specifically for the MSP multi-tenant model.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Q: What is Shadow AI and why is it a problem? A: Shadow AI refers to the use of AI tools and services by employees without explicit IT approval. It's a major problem because these tools often lack enterprise security, data processing agreements (DPAs), or audit logs, leading to potential data leaks, compliance violations (like HIPAA), and loss of intellectual property.
2. Q: How does ShadowLock detect AI usage on our devices? A: ShadowLock deploys a lightweight agent to endpoints (Windows/Mac) that identifies process behavior, browser activity, and network connections associated with known and emerging AI tools. It can detect activity both in web browsers and in standalone desktop applications.
3. Q: Does ShadowLock work with approved AI tools like Microsoft Copilot? A: Yes. ShadowLock can provide visibility into how approved AI tools are being used, helping ensure they are used within intended parameters. It primarily targets unapproved tools for blocking but can govern the usage of all detected AI applications through its policy engine.