Tackling Shadow IT Head-On: Strategies for Cybersecurity Leaders

As cybersecurity leaders, we're all too familiar with the challenges posed by Shadow IT—a persistent thorn in the side of IT and security teams worldwide. And when high-profile supply chain attacks make headlines, the urgency to understand our reliance on third parties becomes all too real.

Understanding the Hidden Risk Issue

When employees bypass security protocols, they’re not actively trying to create risk. They want to get their work done faster or test a new tool, which often becomes the ongoing production solution without any security or IT involvement—until something stops working or has a security compromise. And this is often an indicator that there’s room for improvement when it comes to workplace management technology.

But prohibition isn't the answer. Blocking access to applications only drives users further into the shadows, away from corporate oversight. And each additional third-party solution or vendor brought into the mix without proper vetting or authorization can introduce new risk.

The average employee's workspace extends far beyond the traditional office perimeter. It’s no longer good enough to put critical services behind a firewall and call them secure. Business users demand access from anywhere, at any time and on multiple devices, whilst expecting their confidentiality, integrity, and availability to be preserved as if they were in the office. They also expect to have a choice in the tools they use without security controls getting in the way, insisting security teams enable them in a seamless and simple way.

Read Tim's Playbook to Shadow IT Risk >

Strategies for Shadow IT Management

Fear not—there are strategies to overcome these challenges and strike the right balance between convenience and security. 

Our playbook “What’s Lurking in Your Environment? How Cyber Leaders Can Address Shadow It & Hidden Risk” is designed to provide you and your team with a holistic understanding of hidden risks and arm you with policy and strategy suggestions to protect your expanding digital footprint and infrastructure.

What’s more—we include our first-hand, real-world GRC perspective on Shadow IT management. How do we, as a cyber risk management company, manage hidden risks? What tools, capabilities, and solutions do we trust?

Whether you’re looking for recommendations to make to your board or policies to discuss with your executive team, this playbook aims to shed light on the Shadow IT problem most companies face—whether they know it or not.