Zero Trust For MSPs: ThreatLocker Unleashes Network Access Control Service

“What we are doing is bringing zero trust to endpoints at both the network and application level,” said ThreatLocker co-founder and CEO Danny Jenkins. “This is the first time MSPs have been able to secure and control a global network with thousands of end points in a single portal.”

ThreatLocker is stepping up its march to protect MSPs from the barrage of cybersecurity breaches with a new network access control service.

The new offering- which has been under development for the last 18 months - provides partners with a critical weapon to stop the barrage of attacks that are being launched on the internet. The service will be launched this week at its Zero Trust World conference in Orlando, Fla.

“What we are doing is bringing zero trust to endpoints at both the network and application level,” said ThreatLocker co-founder and CEO Danny Jenkins. “This is the first time MSPs have been able to secure and control a global network with thousands of end points in a single portal. It allows MSPs to protect their RMM, remote desktop services and their client’s business applications. The network access control part was the missing piece for us from a zero trust perspective. This is a huge step forward for us.”

[Related: Kaseya Ransomware Attack Has Led To A Windfall For ThreatLocker: CEO Danny Jenkins]

The network access control offering allows MSPs to “dynamically” protect connections to IP addresses that have been pre-authenticated as safe and secure. That essentially provides safe remote management even as MSPs login to customer accounts from outside the office. “By dynamically allowing access to client systems rather than by static IP address means MSPs no longer have to reroute traffic through a VPN like central point of failure,” he said. “This is protecting MSPs at the endpoint device level.”

Jenkins says he sees the network access control offering as a pivotal moment in the battle to stop MSP attacks that have been launched in some cases via MSP remote monitoring and management (RMM) platforms.

“Essentially we are controlling access to the RMM protecting MSPs,” said Jenkins. “This allows MSP to lock down network traffic unless it’s needed. What we are doing is taking away the surface area of attack. All the defenders that are calling for more detection, more threat hunters, more SOCs (security operation centers) are missing the boat. What we are providing with network access control is zero trust.”

The network access control offering is being added as a component to the current ThreatLocker product set by just turning that capability on, said Jenkins. It is priced under $1 per month per user.

The ThreatLocker zero trust offensive comes in the midst of a federal government mandate for zero trust for US government agencies.

The United States Office of Management and Budget issued a memo on Jan. 26 that “sets forth a Federal zero trust architecture strategy, requiring” agencies to meet strict cybersecurity standards by the end of Fiscal Year 2024.

The federal government requirements are poised to spark more businesses of all sizes adopt a zero trust security architecture, said Jenkins. “This is going to drive more zero trust and least privilege adoption,” he said.

The network access control service is going to add more firepower for MSPs to protect themselves and their customers against the growing ransomware threat. ThreatLocker’s application whitelisting solution has been widely praised by MSPs for providing critical ransomware protection.

“What we are doing is making enterprise zero trust capabilities accessible to MSPs,” Jenkins said. “This is a big opportunity for MSPs to add value to their business, differentiate themselves and to more importantly stop attacks against their customers.”

The ThreatLocker portal, meanwhile, will provide unmatched visibility into all network traffic including applications denied or allowed and PowerShell calls which could be a sign of an attacker, said Jenkins. Threat Locker, in fact, collects three times more data than the average endpoint detection and response product, he said.

“The difference between us and an EDR (endpoint detection and response) product is an EDR takes that data and feeds it into an engine to determine what is good and bad,” he said. “We, on the other hand, make sure that the end point is on the list of allowed access points. We employ the zero trust rule which is we explicitly deny. It must be on the allowed list.”

ThreatLocker is growing sales at a whopping 600 percent a year with the company now protecting 17,000 businesses, said Jenkins.

David Stinner, president of US itek, a Buffalo, N.Y.-based MSP that has implemented ThreatLocker for every one of its customers, said he sees the new network control access service as a “huge” breakthrough that adds yet another layer of protection for Threat Locker partners.

“This is an area of protection that none of the other MSP tools are addressing,” said Stinner. “Zero trust is the really the way to go to protect MSPs but no one has ever cracked that nut. This software is like a bouncer with a clipboard denying you or letting you into the night club. Zero Trust for MSPs provides an interface for us that allows only traffic from certain IP addresses to be let into the network. This is an amazing improvement. This is one more thing that makes me happy to write that check each month to ThreatLocker. I love ThreatLocker. They are the best MSP tool on the market.”

Stinner said he sees Jenkins as a security superstar for MSPs. “What Danny does is continually identify security holes and closes them,” he said. “He has a mind like no other white hat hacker. All of us MSPs that are using ThreatLocker are going to use it forever because it keeps getting better. When my customers want to know if they are safe and secure I can confidently say they are. ThreatLocker has amazing products, amazing customer service and they provide breakthrough security solutions for small medium businesses that nobody else addresses. They are our best vendor partner.”