Just a few short decades ago, protecting your business and its assets could be as simple as locking your file cabinets and maybe hiring a security guard for your office. Today, the threats to a business are far more sophisticated and complex, and the steps you have to take to thwart them have evolved as well!
One of the big dangers facing businesses of all kinds and sizes today is shadow IT, a collection of security risks that are easy to miss, but no less dangerous than major hacking incidents. Protecting yourself, your team, and your entire organization from shadow IT is a major responsibility. The help of service providers like Progressive Computer Systems means that it’s never one that you have to shoulder alone! Here’s what you need to know about shadow IT.
What is Shadow IT?
Shadow IT is a term that refers to any sort of IT that is deployed within an organization by a department or party other than the organization’s IT department. This can include both software and hardware. Unlike other forms of cybersecurity risks, like viruses or phishing schemes, not all shadow IT is malicious. In fact, most forms of shadow IT will be deployed and used by employees of the organization itself. It’s not uncommon for team members to download and use applications or programs that aren’t directly sanctioned by IT due to their own personal preference or a desire to improve their results and speed of work.
What are the Risks of Shadow IT?
While the programs and devices that qualify as shadow IT are usually employed for innocent reasons, they can still pose risks to a business, often unbeknownst to the team members who use them. Since these tools are not known to the organization’s IT department and thus not properly vetted or secured, they are often more vulnerable to things like data breaches and other cybersecurity threats. Noncompliance issues can also arise with the use of shadow IT. For instance, if team members at a healthcare clinic share patient data via an unauthorized app, they could potentially violate HIPAA regulations without meaning to.
If members of your team are, for another example, using an unsecured messaging platform to discuss sensitive information about a company project, the risk of that information being leaked is very real. Similarly, data kept in unsanctioned cloud storage outside of the organization’s network is easier to hack, and easier to lose. Most employees who use shadow IT have no idea that they’re creating a security risk– they’re simply trying to do their jobs. However, the dangers to your business’s data, network, and reputation are still present, so it’s important to directly address shadow IT within your organization to help mitigate these risks!
How to Decrease the Risks of Shadow IT?
The first step to addressing the problem of shadow IT is education. Most of your team members probably don’t realize the importance of sticking to tools that have been vetted by IT, and so it’s important to inform them and increase company-wide awareness of the issue! Next, it’s vital to get to the root of the problem and look into the reasons that people use shadow IT in the first place. What is it that your team members are looking for that they can’t get from the programs and devices that you provide? Maybe they’re unsatisfied with the speed or functionality of their existing tools, or maybe there is a need that isn’t being addressed by your current setup. Getting feedback from your team and using it to guide your future IT decisions can be helpful in many ways, not just reducing the prevalence of shadow IT.
Creating policies and making choices that will curb the use of shadow IT and improve compliance within your business is not something that you should have to deal with alone! Instead, rely on the expertise of our team here at Progressive Computer Systems to help you with this problem. If you have more questions about shadow IT, you can contact us here for more information!
