Biz Tech Tips, episode 64 What is Shadow IT and what risks does it pose?
Shadow IT is essentially any software or hardware that runs without IT knowing about it. Examples include using DropBox or Amazon Web Services on your own on the side, or backing up your work files on your home laptop without work knowing about it, or just buying software to use on your own.
What are the causes?
Usually Shadow IT isn't done with malevolent intent. It is usually done because it makes things easier for an employee at any given time. Maybe their procurement or software approval process is slow, maybe they want to work from home so they throw something into the cloud; it's usually
Why is that a problem?
1.
It causes security weak points. If your IT doesn't know about something, they can't make sure it has all of the correct security updates.
2.
It might be illegal. Lots of legal compliance issues aren't fully discussed with employees but are built into the systems. There are lots of rules around how you can or cannot handle sensitive data.
3.
Data loss. Without proper backup you could lose all of your work if something were to go wrong with a particular piece of hardware, for instance. IT usually has 24/7 monitoring going on to catch potential issues before they pop up, but those protections aren't there for Shadow IT.
4.
Company inefficiencies. Although Shadow IT users generally make their decisions because it speeds something up for them, it does not mean that it does not adversely affect some other part of the business. Whether it's a lack of data transferability, or a use of network resources, or a use of IT resources needing to solve a problem for multiple items that have not been validated and that they are not experts in, the list goes on.
So, keep that in mind and make Shadow IT a conversation in your company, because a recent study showed that over half of all resources in action in a company fall under the "Shadow IT" category, you almost certainly have room to improve.
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