Shadow IT, the hidden face of your internal infrastructures

What is Shadow IT?
Shadow IT is the use of IT tools, software or applications that are not visible and controlled by the IT department. Shadow IT has become a common practice, since according to Gartner more than 40% of corporate employees use them., software, SaaS applications and other services used by employees, but which have not been explicitly authorized by the company or the employer's IT charter.
These tools are often adopted by employees for legitimate productivity reasons. However, their use poses risks in terms of security and complianceas they escape the control of IT teams. With the rise of cloud services in recent years Shadow IT has become widely democratized, making it even more difficult for CIOs to control the company's IT infrastructure.
The limits of Shadow IT
With the advent of the cloud, employees have become accustomed, whenever they feel the need, to easily access online applications and tools, sometimes without going through corporate approval processes. This may involve collaboration tools, data storage, or even artificial intelligence (AI) software, used to optimize certain professional tasks.
While this autonomy seems to offer advantages in terms of productivityit also entails a number of risks risks. From the point of view of CIOSShadow IT represents a gateway for cyber attacksattacks data leaks or even compliance violations. In addition, it becomes more difficult for the company to ensure data protection and guarantee that the tools used comply with regulatory requirements, such as the RGPD.
Another aggravating factor is the use of personal devices in a professional context, a practice known as BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). These devices, which are often poorly secured, escape the control of the IT department and represent additional security vulnerabilities for the organization.
What's more, shadow IT opens the door to a lack of visibility on budgets, with software used by employees that may duplicate solutions already in place within the company. Last but not least, unapproved software can lead to vulnerabilities that inevitably result in additional costs for the company. What's more, if the company were to suffer the loss of confidential or business-critical data, this would have a major impact on sales.
The challenges facing CIOs in 2024 :
Although Shadow IT presents risks, its potential benefits should not be overlooked. potential benefits. Employees seek to meet specific needs that are not always supported by in-house tools. It presents opportunities in terms of productivity and innovation, by enabling employees to adopt tools that improve their efficiency, in particular. For example, a marketing department can adopt a SaaS application to collaborate in real time, or a customer service department can use AI to rapidly analyze customer data.
However, the mission of CIOs in 2024 is to strike a balance between balance between productivity employees and security for the company. It's all about enabling employees to work efficiently, while ensuring :
- Protection against security breaches ;
- Compliance and regulations ;
- Lack of control over IT assets;
- Raising awareness and educating employees about the risks of Shadow IT;
- Budget management.
Security vulnerabilities
The use of unapproved solutions creates loopholes that cybercriminals can exploit. Without proper monitoring, cloud or SaaS applications can introduce vulnerabilities into the corporate network, increasing the risk of malicious attacks. The use of unauthorized services can also lead to passwords being reused from one application to another, which in the event of a data leak represents an additional threat.
Compliance and regulations
The use of certain non-approved applications and software may entail risks of non-compliance with regulations. regulations such as the RGPD. This is the case, for example, if sensitive data is stored or shared via non-compliant services, which would expose the company to financial penalties or even reputational damage.
Lack of control over IT assets
When employees adopt solutions outside the IT department's supervision, companies lose control over their IT infrastructures, making the management and security of these environments more complex. and security of these environments more complex.
Raising awareness and educating employees about the risks of Shadow IT
It's important to note that in most cases, employees are unaware of the risk they pose to their company. This is why awareness and training are crucial to creating a culture of IT security.
CIOs need to set up training programs to explain the dangers of using unapproved applications, and the best practices to follow.
Budget management
When a large number of unauthorized tools are in use, CIOs lose visibility of software and services spending. This can lead to waste of resourcesThis can lead to wasted resources, with duplicate subscriptions to SaaS solutions, or unforeseen management and security costs.
The use of AI and its impact on Shadow IT
L'rtificial intelligence (AI) is also a fast-growing phenomenon, and one of the technologies increasingly used in an uncontrolled way within companies. Employees often adopt generative AI tools for tasks such as content writing, data analysis or project management. Although these tools can significantly improve productivity. They do not meet the standards set by CIOs in terms of compliance and internal security rules. For example, sensitive data can be shared with AI applications that don't meet corporate expectations, opening the way to potential breaches and loss of confidentiality.
For CIOs, the challenge is to monitor the use of these technologies and integrate approved AI solutions that comply with corporate security policies.
CASB's role in managing employee activities
To manage, supervise and, above all, secure, you need visibility above all else. To achieve this, many companies are turning to solutions from Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) SOLUTIONS. A CASB is a solution that sits between the users of cloud services and the providers of these services. It provides complete control and visibility over the use of cloud applications, whether authorized by the company or not.
CASB plays a crucial role in securing shadow IT by offering several essential features. It offers almost complete visibility on cloud applications. CASB enables real-time analysis of employee traffic, and uses a SaaS application database that associates domains, IPs and SaaS applications used within the company, whether approved or not. This enables IT to mbetter understand the scope and assess the risks.
CASB's key functions enable :
- Ensure regulatory compliance by monitoring and enforcing policies aligned with standards such as the RGPD, avoiding financial penalties and reputational damage.
- The integration of access and identity managementto precisely control who can access which applications and data, while detecting and blocking malicious behavior thanks to real-time monitoring.
- Facilitate cloud governance and reducing the risks associated with shadow IT, CASB enables companies to maintain an optimal balance between employee productivity and IT infrastructure securityinfrastructure, while promotinginnovation andagility in a constantly evolving technological environment.
These functions make the CASB an essential element in securing corporate environments. It is part of a more global approach designed to meet all a structure's security needs through the SSE (Security Service Edge) which maximizes the response surface to threats, combining SWG, ZTNA, DLP and CASB functions to deliver a comprehensive strategic security response.
Conclusion
Shadow IT, while it may offer advantages in terms of responsiveness and productivity, also brings serious security, compliance and risk management challenges for CIOs. In the future, one of the key challenges for CIOs will be to strike a balance between enabling employees to remain productive and ensuring robust security of the IT infrastructure.
As we have seen, tools such as CASB and increased employee awareness are complementary approaches to better manage shadow IT, while meeting the security, compliance and efficiency needs of modern businesses.