CyberFox CEO On Blocklisting Feature, Road Map And AI

‘This is the new preferred way to do malware -- living off the land -- so we have to be in there and blocking it. ... [The new feature is] allowing MSPs to block whatever files they want. It’s just another layer of protection that we all have to keep putting on.”’ says David Bellini, CyberFox CEO.

CyberFox Monday launched a new blocklisting feature, Blocker, that aims to address “living off the land,” or malware-free attacks, by reimagining blocklisting and allowlisting with low interruption.

“This is the new preferred way to do malware—living off the land—so we have to be in there and blocking it,” David Bellini, CyberFox CEO, told CRN in an exclusive interview. “This is just the start for us and we’re going to keep on adding to this feature. It’s allowing MSPs to block whatever files they want. It’s just another layer of protection that we all have to keep putting on.”

Blocker provides augmented security, and rule and policy management can be created that allow specified parent processes to execute child processes when required, for example. Blocker's curated list also focuses on known attack vectors, helping to ensure minimal disruption to applications and operations.

The new feature follows the addition of the Tampa, Fla.-based vendor’s Just-in-Time admin feature that generates a temporary admin profile that is automatically purged upon logout. This allows technicians to securely log in without sharing password knowledge using AutoElevate’s mobile app with biometric security.

Blocker will be rolled out over the next four to six weeks.

CRN spoke with Bellini about CyberFox’s product road map, AI and how it plans to grow to a $20 million company by the end of 2024.

What can you tell me about CyberFox’s product road map for the next 12 to 18 months?

We’re going to continue to build this product out and we’re bringing out a DNS filter in the next six months as well as a cyber awareness product. We feel like we could start integrating some of these things together, and we think that’s beneficial. Small business can’t hire a $150,000 CISO [because] they don’t have deep pockets so they’re way underprotected,

What’s your biggest ask from partners?

I think the problem MSPs are having right now is they’re being asked to do a lot of things. There's still maintenance, there’s still work to be done and then there’s revenue pressure that’s happening to all the partners all the time. And now they have to become security experts. They’re getting inundated with a lot of things compared to what it was 20 years ago.

How do you think AI further complicates the cybersecurity landscape?

AI is going to be a fundamental game-changer, just like the cloud was or the internet. When you really think about the seismic moves that happened when the internet came out … any company that was not using the internet in some capacity was going out of business. I feel this will be identical. So every company will use AI to make their business more efficient, more profitable and more secure.

The internet is a double-edged sword. It’s wonderful and it’s horrible at the same time. It’s been this incredible boom for business, but there’s a lot of bad things out there as well. I look at AI the same way. We all have to figure out how to use it successfully, but it’s going to open up new avenues to be attacked from a security standpoint.

Your brother [former ConnectWise CEO] Arnie Bellini’s five-year noncompete expired last week [which was part of the deal to sell the company to Thoma Bravo]. What do you think about him possibly returning to the channel?

He actually texted me yesterday to say, ‘Hey, you know it’s over today.’ Five years is a long time. Is he actually going to compete? I don’t know. He kind of keeps his cards close to his vest. I don’t know what he has up his sleeves.