SECURITY

BlackFog launches ADX Vision for macOS to curb shadow AI leaks

BlackFog Inc. today launched ADX Vision for macOS, extending its shadow artificial intelligence detection and prevention platform to Apple Inc. endpoints so security teams can apply one data-loss policy across Windows and Mac fleets.

The anti-data exfiltration company claims the release closes a gap that has left a large share of corporate AI use unmonitored. Macs are common among executives, engineers, designers and other staff who handle sensitive corporate data and intellectual property, yet activity on those devices has largely sat outside the view of security teams.

The product targets the rise of unsanctioned generative AI use inside companies. BlackFog research found that most employees now use AI tools at work, but nearly half, 49%, use tools their employer has not approved. Data fed into those tools can leave the organization without any record.

Most shadow AI tools on the market take one of three approaches, according to BlackFog: a browser extension, a network proxy or cloud access security broker, or a server-side integration with a limited set of approved AI vendors. None can see AI-bound data flows that originate from native desktop applications, integrated development environment plugins or local agents, leaving security teams blind to a growing class of on-device activity.

ADX Vision runs instead as a native macOS system extension. It inspects AI-bound data on the device before that data is encrypted or transmitted, regardless of which application, browser or local agent generated the request. BlackFog says the approach provides visibility without browser extensions, network proxies, certificate interception or any requirement that the user connect to the corporate network.

The macOS release is the third exfiltration threat BlackFog has addressed through its endpoint-native model, following the on-device approach it has used against ransomware double extortion since 2019.

“Every time the threat landscape has shifted over the past decade, the question has been the same: where is the right place to stop data from leaving the organization? Our answer has always been the endpoint,” said BlackFog founder and Chief Executive Darren Williams. “Bringing ADX Vision to macOS is not a port. It’s the same architectural bet, applied natively to the platform where many of the most sensitive conversations with AI are happening today, on the laptops of executives, engineers and creative teams.”

Founded in 2015, BlackFog says its platform protects more than 500 enterprises, government agencies and critical infrastructure operators. The company is headquartered in San Francisco with operations in London and Belfast and publishes the annual “State of Ransomware” report along with the BlackFog/Sapio shadow AI research.

ADX Vision for macOS is generally available now for macOS Ventura and later and is included in existing ADX Vision subscriptions at no extra cost.

Image: BlackFog