There has been much discussion about AI recently, and various governments are banning certain services. Recently there have been a series of Deepseek bans in various countries. The method is to either ban users from using the service, such as Australian federal employees, or remove the app from the relevant store, as Italy has done.

Example: https://www.business-standard.com/technology/tech-news/us-congress-bans-deepseek-ai-security-risks-125020101088_1.html

https://www.silicon.co.uk/cloud/ai/italy-blocks-deepseek-over-data-concernsdeepseek-italy-block-597854

Removing the app from the relevant store is not a foolproof method. When TikTok was banned, devices with the previously installed app were traded online for huge costs, way above the normal value because the app was still present, and the service could be accessed. Secure64 LineGuard deployed in a network would have stopped these devices from accessing TikTok while the ban was in place.

Firewall vendors also suggest that businesses block access by blocking the domain. This is a good idea, but what happens when the AI vendor changes the domain? What happens when the user is off the corporate network on open Wi-Fi? 

Using a firewall is not a long-term solution as it doesn’t scale, impacts performance, and critically doesn’t solve the off-net issue.

While manually changing firewall rules is possible, it requires a lot of work by the system administrator, and if you have multiple firewalls, you might have to perform the change multiple times.

Secure64 with LineGuard has a cloud-based solution that operates across the globe. We can block Deepseek and many other apps and content. To enable instant blocking, click a radio button for the app or category. With our client app, we can ensure that the app is blocked even when users are off the network. This simple app is always on and can only be turned off with a PIN or the admin’s approval. With the always up-to-date feeds, if the domains change, we block the new domains.

This lessens the overhead for network admins, as you just have to click the box to block the app. You can also select a whole category, such as Social Media, Firearms, Alcohol, malware, phishing, Ransomware, etc.

LineGuard is a content control platform. You select the category to block, such as AI, and we block all the ones we recognize. If new ones appear, we add them to the category or app list.

Interestingly, we use our own AI to detect and categorize new sites, reducing the time it takes for a service to appear blocked. This process is rapid and offers protection quickly. LineGuard AI blocking includes multiple AI engines, including Deepseek and ChatGPT, and is available now.

To learn more about Secure64 LineGuard, contact sales@secure64.com