ShadowLock

ShadowLock is a comprehensive shadow AI detection and governance platform specifically designed for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and internal IT teams. It addresses the growing and critical problem of employees using unapproved artificial intelligence tools with sensitive corporate data, often without any organizational visibility or control. The platform provides real-time monitoring and policy enforcement across the entire AI surface, covering blind spots that traditional managed-device controls miss. This includes browser extensions, desktop AI applications, local large language models like Ollama, and personal accounts on public AI services. ShadowLock operates through three integrated layers: a Windows endpoint agent that deploys silently via existing Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools, a browser extension that intercepts and classifies risky data pastes and uploads to AI sites, and a Microsoft 365 scanner for detecting connected AI applications. All controls are managed from a single, multi-tenant dashboard that allows MSPs to audit or block AI activity across every client environment, generating audit-ready compliance reports. Built with privacy as a core principle, ShadowLock performs no keystroke logging and transmits zero content from user interactions, ensuring sensitive data never leaves the endpoint while still providing the visibility needed to govern AI usage effectively.

Multi-Layered Detection and Enforcement

ShadowLock provides comprehensive coverage across three distinct layers to capture the full spectrum of shadow AI activity. The endpoint agent, deployable silently via existing RMM tools, monitors Windows endpoints for AI activity, scans for installed browser extensions, and detects local AI applications like Ollama and LM Studio. The browser enforcement layer, which self-configures upon agent installation, intercepts pastes, file uploads, and sensitive data typed directly into AI prompts. It enforces data-sharing opt-out settings on each AI tool and applies organizational policies with clear, user-facing messages. The Microsoft 365 scanner connects to each customer tenant to detect and report on AI applications that have been granted access to organizational data through the M365 ecosystem.

Real-Time Risk Classification and Interception

The browser extension component of ShadowLock actively monitors interactions with over 100 detected AI tools, services, and desktop applications. When a user attempts to paste customer records, credentials, confidential documents, or other sensitive data into an AI tool, the extension intercepts the action in real-time. It classifies the content based on predefined policies and either blocks the action entirely, warns the user with a contextual message, or allows it with an audit trail. This proactive interception prevents sensitive data from leaving the endpoint and entering unapproved AI systems, mitigating legal, compliance, and liability exposure before it occurs.

Silent Deployment and Multi-Tenant Management

ShadowLock is engineered specifically for MSP operational efficiency. The Windows agent deploys silently to endpoints using existing RMM tools, requiring zero user interaction and no disruption to daily workflows. Once deployed, all client environments are managed from a single, centralized multi-tenant dashboard. This dashboard provides MSPs with unified visibility into AI usage across every client, allowing them to audit activity, apply or modify controls, and generate audit-ready compliance reports for each organization. The platform scales effortlessly as new clients are onboarded, making it a practical solution for MSPs managing diverse customer bases with varying security requirements.

Privacy-by-Design Architecture

ShadowLock is built with a fundamental commitment to end-user privacy and data security. The platform operates on a zero-content transmission model, meaning it never captures or transmits the actual content of user interactions with AI tools. There is no keystroke logging functionality whatsoever. Instead, ShadowLock relies on metadata and classification signals to determine risk and enforce policies. This architecture ensures that sensitive data, including customer records, intellectual property, and personal information, remains entirely on the endpoint. Organizations gain the visibility and control they need to govern AI usage without introducing new privacy risks or creating a honeypot of sensitive data that could itself become a target.

HIPAA Compliance and ePHI Protection

Healthcare organizations and their MSPs face significant regulatory risk when patient data is pasted into public AI tools without a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) in place. ShadowLock directly addresses this exposure by intercepting any attempt to submit protected health information to unapproved AI chatbots, browser extensions, or desktop applications. The platform provides real-time blocking and generates detailed audit logs that demonstrate compliance efforts. This allows healthcare providers to leverage approved AI tools where appropriate while maintaining strict regulatory adherence and avoiding the severe penalties associated with HIPAA violations, even when no formal breach has occurred.

MSP Client Risk Management and Liability Mitigation

Managed Service Providers face a growing liability gap when clients experience AI-related incidents. If an employee submits trade secrets or customer PII to a public AI tool and the MSP had endpoint management scope, the question shifts from "not our job" to "you should have known." ShadowLock closes this gap by providing MSPs with the tools to proactively detect, monitor, and control shadow AI usage across all client environments. The multi-tenant dashboard enables rapid deployment of consistent policies, while audit-ready reports provide documented evidence of governance efforts. This protects both the client and the MSP from legal and financial repercussions.

Intellectual Property and Trade Secret Protection

Organizations that develop proprietary software, product designs, or confidential business strategies face substantial risk when employees use AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot or Cursor, or submit source code and contracts to public chatbots. ShadowLock detects and governs these interactions, preventing the unauthorized transmission of trade secrets and intellectual property. By controlling access at the endpoint and browser level, the platform helps maintain the legal protections that require organizations to demonstrate reasonable efforts to keep information secret. This is critical for preserving patent rights, trade secret status, and competitive advantage.

Incident Response Preparedness and Defensibility

When an organization discovers that sensitive data may have been exposed through an AI tool, the ability to respond effectively depends on having prior visibility. Without ShadowLock, security teams cannot answer which tool was used, which account was involved, or what specific data was submitted. This breaks the incident response triage process, hinders notification obligations, and undermines legal defensibility. ShadowLock provides the forensic trail necessary for effective incident response, enabling organizations to quickly identify the scope of an exposure, determine affected parties, and take appropriate remedial action with confidence in the accuracy of the information.

How does ShadowLock detect shadow AI usage without capturing sensitive data?

ShadowLock uses a privacy-by-design architecture that relies on metadata analysis and content classification at the endpoint, rather than transmitting actual content to external servers. The browser extension analyzes the context of user interactions with AI tools, such as the destination URL, the type of data being pasted or uploaded, and the application in use. It classifies content based on predefined patterns and policies without logging keystrokes or transmitting the actual data. This approach provides the necessary visibility and control while ensuring that sensitive information, including customer records, credentials, and confidential documents, never leaves the endpoint or is stored externally.

Can ShadowLock be deployed across multiple client environments simultaneously?

Yes, ShadowLock is specifically built for MSPs managing diverse client bases. The Windows agent deploys silently via existing RMM tools, requiring no user interaction or specialized configuration per endpoint. Once deployed, all client environments are managed from a single, centralized multi-tenant dashboard. This dashboard provides unified visibility into AI usage across every client, allowing MSPs to apply consistent policies, audit activity, and generate compliance reports for each organization from one interface. New clients can be onboarded quickly without additional deployment complexity.

Which AI tools and applications does ShadowLock detect and govern?

ShadowLock currently detects and governs over 100 AI tools, services, and desktop applications, with the list growing continuously. This includes public AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini accessed via personal accounts; AI browser extensions such as sidebar assistants and email rewriters; desktop AI apps including Claude Desktop, the ChatGPT app, Ollama, and LM Studio; AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot and Cursor; embedded SaaS AI features like Copilot and AI writing tools within approved applications; and meeting and transcription AI tools like Otter.ai and Fireflies. The platform covers the full AI surface that traditional managed-device controls miss.

What happens when an employee tries to paste sensitive data into an AI tool?

When an employee attempts to paste, upload, or type sensitive data into an AI tool, ShadowLock's browser enforcement layer intercepts the action in real-time. The platform classifies the content based on your organization's predefined policies and takes the appropriate action. This may include blocking the action entirely with a clear user-facing message explaining the policy violation, warning the user and allowing them to proceed with an audit trail, or silently allowing the action while logging it for compliance purposes. All actions are recorded in the centralized dashboard, providing complete visibility and defensibility.