ShadowLock

ShadowLock is a comprehensive shadow AI detection and governance platform specifically designed for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and internal IT teams who need real-time visibility and control over employee usage of artificial intelligence tools. The platform addresses a critical and growing security gap: the use of unapproved AI applications, browser extensions, and local large language models that operate outside traditional managed-device controls. ShadowLock provides a three-layer protection system encompassing an endpoint agent, a browser enforcement layer, and a Microsoft 365 scanner, all managed through a single multi-tenant dashboard. The core value proposition is preventing sensitive data from leaving the endpoint before it is pasted, uploaded, or typed into AI tools. The platform detects and governs over 100 AI tools, services, and desktop applications, including public chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude, AI browser extensions, embedded SaaS AI features, desktop AI apps like Ollama and LM Studio, AI coding assistants, and meeting transcription tools. Built for MSPs to govern AI across every client from a single pane of glass, ShadowLock is private by design, with no keystroke logging and zero content transmission to its servers. It generates audit-ready reports that help organizations demonstrate compliance with HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, and other regulatory frameworks, while also reducing legal liability and protecting intellectual property.

Endpoint Agent with Silent RMM Deployment

The Windows endpoint agent deploys silently via existing Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools, requiring zero user interaction and no dedicated security engineering resources. Once installed, the agent continuously monitors AI activity on the endpoint, scans for unauthorized browser extensions, detects locally running AI applications such as Ollama and LM Studio, and locks down the AI features built into Chrome, Edge, Brave, and Firefox browsers. This provides comprehensive coverage of the desktop environment without disrupting user productivity.

Browser Enforcement Layer with Sensitive Data Interception

A self-configuring browser extension activates automatically once the endpoint agent is installed, creating a seamless enforcement mechanism. The extension intercepts pastes, file uploads, and sensitive data typed directly into AI tool prompts, classifying each action against organizational policies. It enforces data-sharing opt-out settings on each AI tool and displays clear, user-facing messages explaining why certain actions are blocked or restricted. This provides real-time protection at the point of data entry.

Multi-Tenant Governance Dashboard

The centralized, multi-tenant dashboard gives MSPs and IT teams complete visibility and control over AI usage across all clients from a single interface. Administrators can audit every AI-related action, toggle individual controls on or off per client or user group, and generate comprehensive, audit-ready reports for compliance and incident response purposes. The dashboard provides the evidence needed to demonstrate due diligence and regulatory compliance without manual log collection.

Microsoft 365 AI App Detection Scanner

The platform includes a dedicated Microsoft 365 scanner that connects to each client tenant to detect and catalog all AI applications and features being used within the Microsoft ecosystem. This covers AI tools embedded in approved SaaS applications, such as Copilot and AI writing features, that may have been activated without any security review. The scanner provides visibility into shadow AI activity occurring within the Microsoft 365 environment, closing a significant blind spot for most organizations.

Preventing HIPAA and ePHI Data Exposure in Healthcare

Healthcare organizations and their MSPs use ShadowLock to prevent patient data from being pasted into public AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude without a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) in place. The platform intercepts protected health information at the endpoint, blocking the transmission before it reaches an unapproved AI service. This protects against HIPAA violations, avoids costly regulatory penalties, and ensures that patient confidentiality is maintained even as employees experiment with productivity-enhancing AI tools.

Enforcing GDPR and CCPA Compliance for Customer PII

Organizations subject to European and California privacy regulations deploy ShadowLock to prevent customer personally identifiable information (PII) from being processed through unapproved AI vendors. The platform ensures that no data is transmitted to AI services without a lawful basis, a compliant Data Processing Agreement (DPA), or a proper transfer mechanism in place. This reduces the risk of regulatory fines and legal action while providing audit trails that demonstrate compliance with data protection frameworks.

Protecting Trade Secrets and Intellectual Property

Companies with valuable proprietary information use ShadowLock to prevent source code, product plans, contracts, and other confidential documents from being submitted to public AI tools. The platform blocks these submissions at the endpoint, preserving trade secret protections and reducing the risk of intellectual property theft or inadvertent disclosure. This is particularly critical for technology companies, research organizations, and any business whose competitive advantage depends on proprietary information.

Reducing MSP Liability Across Multiple Clients

MSPs deploy ShadowLock across all client environments to close the liability gap that exists when a client experiences an AI-related data incident. By providing endpoint-level visibility and controls, the platform ensures that MSPs can demonstrate they took reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized AI use. The multi-tenant dashboard allows MSPs to govern AI usage for every client from one place, generate audit-ready reports, and respond to incidents with complete knowledge of which tools, accounts, and data were involved.

How does ShadowLock protect data without violating user privacy?

ShadowLock is designed with a privacy-first architecture. The platform does not perform keystroke logging and does not transmit the actual content of user interactions to its servers. Instead, the browser extension and endpoint agent classify data at the endpoint level, only sending metadata about blocked or flagged actions to the dashboard. This ensures that sensitive content remains on the user's device while still providing the visibility and control needed to govern AI usage.

What types of AI tools and applications does ShadowLock detect and govern?

ShadowLock covers over 100 AI tools, services, and desktop applications, and the list is continuously growing. This includes public AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini accessed via personal accounts, AI browser extensions such as sidebar assistants and email rewriters, embedded SaaS AI features like Copilot, desktop AI apps including Ollama and LM Studio, AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot and Cursor, and meeting transcription tools like Otter.ai and Fireflies. The platform detects these tools regardless of whether they are accessed through corporate or personal accounts.

How does the browser enforcement layer interact with existing security tools?

The browser enforcement layer is designed to complement existing security tools, not replace them. The browser extension self-configures once the endpoint agent is installed and works alongside existing endpoint protection, web filtering, and data loss prevention solutions. It intercepts actions at the browser level that other tools may miss, such as pasting data into a ChatGPT prompt accessed through a personal account. The extension displays clear user-facing messages when actions are blocked, reducing user confusion and support tickets.

Can MSPs deploy ShadowLock across multiple clients from a single interface?

Yes, ShadowLock is specifically built for MSPs to govern AI usage across every client from one centralized, multi-tenant dashboard. The platform supports silent deployment via existing RMM tools, allowing MSPs to roll out the endpoint agent to hundreds or thousands of endpoints without manual intervention. The dashboard provides per-client visibility and control, enabling MSPs to audit activity, toggle controls, and generate audit-ready reports for each client individually or across the entire portfolio. This simplifies AI governance for MSPs managing diverse client environments with varying compliance requirements.