ShadowLock

ShadowLock is a purpose-built shadow AI detection and governance platform that gives Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and internal IT teams real-time visibility and control over how employees use AI tools, before sensitive data ever leaves the endpoint. In today's fast-moving landscape, unapproved AI usage represents the fastest-growing security blind spot for organizations of every size. ShadowLock covers the critical gaps that traditional managed-device controls miss, including browser extensions, desktop AI applications, local large language models like Ollama and LM Studio, and personal account usage on public AI platforms. The platform operates through three integrated layers: a lightweight Windows endpoint agent that deploys silently via existing RMM tools, a browser extension that intercepts and classifies risky pastes, uploads, and typed content headed to AI sites, and a multi-tenant dashboard that lets MSPs audit or block each control across every client from a single pane of glass. Built for scale and speed, ShadowLock delivers audit-ready reports that satisfy compliance requirements under HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy frameworks. The platform is private by design with no keystroke logging and zero transmission of actual content, ensuring that governance never comes at the cost of employee privacy. For MSPs looking to scale their security offerings and protect clients from the mounting liability of shadow AI, ShadowLock is the essential layer of defense that turns blind spots into governed, auditable control.

Multi-Layer Endpoint and Browser Coverage

ShadowLock deploys a silent Windows agent via your existing RMM tools to monitor all AI activity on managed endpoints. The agent scans for browser extensions, detects locally installed AI applications like Claude Desktop and Ollama, and locks down the AI features built into Chrome, Edge, Brave, and Firefox. Once the agent is installed, the browser extension self-configures and begins intercepting pastes, file uploads, and sensitive data typed directly into AI prompts. This dual-layer approach ensures that no AI tool can operate outside your governance policies, whether it runs in the browser or as a standalone desktop application.

Real-Time Content Classification and Policy Enforcement

The ShadowLock browser extension actively classifies every interaction with AI tools as it happens. When a user attempts to paste customer records, credentials, or confidential documents into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any of over 100 detected AI services, the extension evaluates the content against your defined policies and either blocks the action, warns the user, or logs it for audit. The system enforces data-sharing opt-outs on each AI tool automatically and displays clear, user-facing messages that explain the policy decision. This real-time enforcement prevents data exfiltration before it occurs, without disrupting legitimate productivity.

Multi-Tenant MSP Dashboard with Audit-Ready Reporting

The centralized ShadowLock dashboard gives MSPs a single, unified view of AI governance across every client environment. From this console, you can audit all detected AI activity, configure per-client policies, toggle controls on or off, and generate compliance-ready reports that satisfy HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA requirements. The dashboard surfaces actionable insights, including which AI tools are in use, which users are generating the most risk, and which data types are being submitted. This visibility transforms shadow AI from an unknown liability into a fully governed, reportable asset for your client relationships.

Private by Design with Zero Content Transmission

ShadowLock is architected from the ground up to protect both organizational data and employee privacy. The platform performs all content classification and policy enforcement locally on the endpoint, meaning no keystroke logs are captured and no actual content is ever transmitted to external servers. The system only sends metadata, such as which tool was accessed and whether the action was blocked or allowed, to the cloud dashboard. This private-by-design approach ensures that organizations can govern AI usage without creating new privacy risks or violating employee trust, making ShadowLock suitable for even the most regulated industries.

Governing Public AI Chatbot Access Across Client Organizations

MSPs manage dozens or hundreds of client environments where employees routinely access ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini using personal accounts. Without enterprise contracts, DPAs, or audit trails, each interaction with sensitive data creates legal and compliance exposure. ShadowLock gives MSPs the ability to detect every instance of public AI chatbot usage, classify the data being submitted in real time, and block or log risky interactions. This use case is critical for organizations in healthcare, legal, and financial services where a single paste of protected health information or client data into an unapproved tool can trigger regulatory penalties and reputational damage.

Securing AI Browser Extensions and Sidebar Assistants

Employees increasingly install browser extensions like sidebar assistants, email rewriters, and AI writing tools that read content across every website they visit, including clipboard data and form fields. These extensions operate outside traditional web filtering and DLP controls, creating a significant blind spot for IT teams. ShadowLock detects and inventories all AI-related browser extensions across managed endpoints, allowing MSPs to block high-risk extensions, whitelist approved ones, and enforce policies that prevent extensions from accessing sensitive data. This use case ensures that the productivity gains from AI assistants do not come at the cost of data security.

Protecting Against Desktop AI Applications and Local LLMs

The rise of desktop AI applications like Claude Desktop, ChatGPT desktop, and local LLMs such as Ollama and LM Studio means that AI usage is no longer confined to the browser. These applications have broad file system access and can process sensitive documents, source code, and proprietary data entirely outside of traditional web-based controls. ShadowLock's Windows agent detects these applications on endpoints, provides visibility into their usage, and allows MSPs to block or restrict them with granular policies. This use case is essential for organizations with intellectual property concerns, where ungoverned local AI processing can weaken trade secret protections and expose proprietary code.

Incident Response and Compliance Auditing for AI-Related Events

When a data incident involving AI tools occurs, organizations face a critical blind spot: they cannot answer which tool was used, which account was involved, or what data was submitted. This lack of visibility breaks incident response triage, regulatory notification obligations, and defensibility in legal proceedings. ShadowLock provides the audit trail that answers these questions, capturing metadata about every AI interaction across all detected tools. MSPs can generate compliance-ready reports that demonstrate governance controls were in place, identify the scope of any incident, and satisfy auditor requirements under HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA. This use case transforms shadow AI from an unmanageable risk into a fully auditable and defensible part of the security program.

How does ShadowLock deploy across multiple client environments?

ShadowLock is built for MSP-scale deployment. The Windows endpoint agent deploys silently via your existing RMM tools with zero user interaction required. Once the agent is installed, it automatically configures the browser enforcement layer for Chrome, Edge, Brave, and Firefox. The multi-tenant dashboard then auto-discovers each client environment, allowing you to manage policies, view activity, and generate reports from a single interface. There is no need for dedicated security engineering or complex configuration across different client sites.

Does ShadowLock capture or transmit the content of employee interactions?

No. ShadowLock is private by design and does not perform keystroke logging or transmit any actual content from employee interactions. All content classification and policy enforcement happens locally on the endpoint. The system only sends metadata to the cloud dashboard, including which AI tool was accessed, whether the action was blocked or allowed, and anonymized policy enforcement data. This approach ensures that organizations can govern AI usage effectively without creating new privacy risks or violating employee trust.

What AI tools and applications does ShadowLock detect and govern?

ShadowLock currently detects and governs over 100 AI tools, services, and desktop applications, and the list continues to grow. This includes public AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, AI browser extensions, desktop applications such as Claude Desktop, ChatGPT app, Ollama, and LM Studio, AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot and Cursor, meeting and transcription AI tools like Otter.ai and Fireflies, and embedded AI features within SaaS applications. The platform continuously updates its detection capabilities to cover new and emerging AI tools as they enter the workplace.

How does ShadowLock help with HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA compliance?

ShadowLock directly addresses the compliance gaps created by unapproved AI usage. For HIPAA, the platform prevents patient data (ePHI) from being pasted into public AI tools without a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) in place, and provides audit trails that demonstrate governance controls. For GDPR and CCPA, ShadowLock ensures that customer PII is not processed through unapproved vendors without a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) or lawful transfer mechanism. The audit-ready reports generated by the platform satisfy regulatory requirements for demonstrating due diligence and can be used to prove that appropriate technical controls were in place during any compliance investigation.