In the post-pandemic world, the security perimeter of enterprises has increased to support the shift to remote and hybrid work. Employees feel more independent and empowered to purchase the apps they want.
According to Cloud Zero’s “The State Of Cloud Cost Intelligence”, there is a 55 percent increase in employees using unapproved applications on company devices.
Shadow IT is no longer a problem you can ignore. It's the elephant in the room and needs to be addressed before it jeopardizes your enterprise cybersecurity.
Understanding Shadow IT
Shadow IT, also known as ‘stealth IT’ or ‘rogue IT,’ is the practice of employees using unauthorized or unregulated technology solutions, tools, or services without the explicit approval or oversight of the IT department. It occurs when employees or departments take technology decisions into their own hands, bypassing official IT channels.
Anything from using personal smartphones and cloud storage solutions for work purposes to adopting unapproved software and applications to enhance productivity or meet specific needs counts as shadow IT.
So why do employees resort to shadow IT?
One common motivation is the desire for improved agility and efficiency. Employees may feel that the official IT department is too slow to respond to their technology needs or that the approved tools are too restrictive and don't align with their specific tasks or preferences. In some cases, employees may be unaware that their tools fall under the shadow IT category, as they may genuinely believe they are improving their work processes.
While convenient and done with the best intentions, shadow IT carries several harmful risks for the organization, including data breaches, non-compliance with industry regulations, and business inefficiencies.
Key risks of shadow IT and how to tackle them
Knowing the main risks of shadow, IT can also help you tackle them successfully.
Lack of visibility
Shadow IT falls outside the view of IT departments, making it difficult for them to detect. It increases the probability of vulnerabilities, policy violations, and misconfigurations, eventually leading to data breaches and loss.
If a team is reliant on a shadow IT application that suddenly breaks down or goes out of service, it can be difficult to retrieve the data stored on it. The IT department may not even know how to fix it since they have no knowledge or documentation of it in the first place.
When users store assets in their personal accounts, it becomes challenging to regain access in case of termination or resignation. It also compromises the integrity and confidentiality of the data stored.
Solution:
To address this, you can implement regular audits and use network monitoring tools. Regular audits involve actively seeking out unauthorized technology usage within the organization and regularly assessing each user’s security and compliance status.
With more insights into the tools that employees are using, you can gain visibility and take informed steps to manage and regulate shadow IT.
Security risks
Using unauthorized software and hardware can introduce security vulnerabilities. End users rarely understand the importance of updates, security patches, permissions, and other critical controls. They may fail to configure shadow IT resources to meet security requirements and inadvertently introduce security loopholes.
Cybercriminals can exploit these vulnerabilities, resulting in cyberattacks and leakage of sensitive information. According to IBM, 45 percent of security breaches in 2022 were cloud-based, costing an average of $3.8 million.
Solution:
Organizations should implement stringent access controls to prevent unauthorized technology usage. It can include strong password policies, multi-factor authentication, and limiting access to sensitive data.
Data encryption should be employed to protect information, both in transit and at rest. Security awareness training is also crucial to educate employees about the risks of shadow IT and best practices for secure technology usage.
Compliance issues
Regulations like HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and GDPR have strict requirements when processing personally identifiable information. Shadow IT solutions don’t meet these data security standards, leading to violations and legal repercussions against the organization.
Solution:
To address compliance issues, you should establish and communicate a comprehensive IT policy that clearly outlines which tools and services are approved and which are not. Employee education is equally important, as it helps all staff members understand the importance of compliance and the potential legal implications of non-compliance.
Operational inefficiencies
Shadow IT applications rarely integrate natively with sanctioned IT infrastructure, resulting in obstructed workflows and duplicated efforts. Teams might work on unofficial, invalid, or outdated information, creating data inconsistency and inefficient processes.
The IT team may also introduce new sanctioned assets or update the IT infrastructure without accounting for any shadow IT resources, disrupting the functionality of the existing shadow IT assets.
Solution:
Clear communication within the organization is crucial to mitigate these inefficiencies. Departments and employees should be encouraged to share their technology needs and requirements so that the IT department can provide approved alternatives that align with the requirements, reducing the motivation for shadow IT.
Ways to eliminate shadow IT
Employees always look for ways to streamline and improve their everyday work processes. Going to the IT department may seem like the obvious answer, but not when you know they are already dealing with massive IT backlogs. Getting one custom application out can take months or even years. The prolonged delays and inefficiencies give employees all the more reason to start using unapproved applications. Here are some ways to eliminate shadow IT in its roots.
Visibility into Shadow IT:
The first step is to understand the extent of Shadow IT in your organization. This involves identifying all the IT assets in use and who's using them.
Establish a Dialogue with Users:
Engage with employees to understand why they resort to using unauthorized tools. This can provide valuable insights into gaps in current IT solutions that lead to Shadow IT..
Empower Employees with the Right Tools:
If employees are turning to Shadow IT because they lack necessary tools, providing them with the right, approved tools can help.
Leverage Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs):
CASBs can provide visibility into your organization's cloud application usage, helping you monitor for and control shadow IT.
Deploy Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) Solutions:
Android EMM solutions can help manage and secure access to corporate data on employees' mobile devices, another common source of shadow IT.
Encourage citizen development:
Citizen development can eliminate shadow IT by giving employees the tools they need to create their own applications in weeks instead of months.
Low-code and no-code development platforms allow business users with limited to no coding skills to build applications through a visual drag-and-drop interface. IT can still govern and monitor the apps while encouraging a culture of innovation, transparency, and collaboration.
