Is there a hole in your network security? Unless you're using an application whitelisting service like ThreatLocker, the answer is "yes."

OTM has witnessed ransomware events that have locked up "protected" networks. Despite implementation of standard security measures including a full featured firewall, email filtering, and endpoint protection, successful attacks used compromised user and administrator passwords. When passwords are compromised, conventional "best practices" are circumvented.

We can verify what you've heard in the news. Ransomware attacks are increasing and everyone is at risk.

The Problem with Standard Security Measures

Most businesses believe they're protected once they've deployed a firewall, antivirus software, and email filtering. And while those are essential layers, they share a critical blind spot: they don't control what legitimate applications can do once they're running on your network.

When an attacker compromises an administrator-level account — through a phishing email, a leaked password, or a credential stuffing attack — they gain access to the same powerful system tools your IT team uses every day. PowerShell. Command Prompt. Regedit. These tools become weapons.

That's the hole. And it's a big one.

How ThreatLocker Closes the Gap

We discovered ThreatLocker via a recommendation by a cybersecurity auditing company. It provides four components that get you closer to a Zero Trust network architecture.

Application Learning

First, ThreatLocker learns and provides details of what's installed on your network and how these applications engage other applications. This visibility alone is eye-opening for most organizations — you may be surprised by what's actually running on your machines.

Ringfencing — The Key Differentiator

The distinguishing benefit of ThreatLocker is the Ringfencing tool. If an administrator-level account is compromised, common system tools like PowerShell, Command Prompt, and Regedit that are normally accessible by the administrator can't be used against the system unless that action has been explicitly defined.

For example, if PowerShell is permitted, it is only allowed in a specific instance — MyCustomScript.ps1, for example. An attacker who gains admin credentials still can't run arbitrary PowerShell commands to move laterally through your network, exfiltrate data, or deploy ransomware.

This is a fundamentally different approach from traditional security tools, which focus on blocking known bad things. ThreatLocker only allows explicitly permitted things — everything else is blocked by default.

Storage and File Share Control

ThreatLocker also includes features enabling control of storage and file share access. You can define exactly which applications can read from or write to which locations. This dramatically limits the blast radius of a ransomware attack — even if malware executes, it can't encrypt your file shares if it doesn't have explicit permission to write to them.

Privileged Access Management

Rounding out the platform is privileged access management, which gives you granular control over who can do what — and when — on your network.

Why This Matters for Your Business

Ransomware attacks have become increasingly sophisticated. The attackers behind today's campaigns are patient, methodical, and well-funded. They don't just blast malware at random targets — they research their victims, identify weak points, and exploit them deliberately.

The businesses that get hit hardest are often the ones that thought they were protected. They had a firewall. They had antivirus. They had email filtering. But they didn't have application whitelisting.

OTM has seen this scenario play out firsthand. It's not a theoretical risk.

What You Should Do Next

If you want to learn more about how ThreatLocker works, check out this brief 22-minute demonstration provided by ThreatLocker's founder, Danny Jenkins: ThreatLocker Demo on YouTube.

For further questions, contact us here at OTM by calling 800-292-3537, option 1. We're happy to walk you through whether ThreatLocker is the right fit for your organization and how it would integrate with your existing security stack.

Don't wait for a ransomware event to find out you had a hole in your defenses. Let's close it now.