What is Shadow IT?

The use of external software, systems, or alternatives within an organization without explicit IT approval is called shadow IT. End users look for external alternatives when the enterprise stack falls short. These alternatives suffice the requirements at hand. However, they should be authorized to be used within the organization with valid justification and approval from IT.

Importance of Governance to Diminish Shadow IT

Security is the biggest factor and concern from an enterprise standpoint as a small vulnerability can compromise the whole system. Vulnerabilities can come in every form and size. However, when the vulnerabilities are introduced by the internal teams intentionally or unintentionally, the enterprises are subjected to multi-dimensional risk factors. This is because the uncertainty of the risk medium becomes vast.

The severity of the consequences forces enterprises to adopt both conventional and unconventional ways to keep themselves secure from all risks and vulnerabilities. The process of attaining security and reliability is through extensive governance. User behavior patterns and their actions need to be tracked and analyzed regularly to ensure no deviations from the processes take place. Let us understand how enterprises can achieve impenetrable security guarantees.

Shadow IT Risks and Their Remediations

Vulnerabilities enter the system from various mediums. Generally, attackers try to gain control of enterprise data and systems through digital and social engineering attacks. Most attacks are caused due to infrastructural or procedural security breaches. Enterprises know the consequences of these breaches and always follow security best practices with bulletproof, zero-trust architectures.

However, when the vulnerabilities are caused by internal parties, enterprises are in a tight spot to isolate and remediate them. They need to be well-equipped with processes in place to avoid these internal risks. Let’s explore what are the internal risks and how can enterprises avoid them:

Data Sharing

Data is the key component when it comes to conveying and showcasing information. Every stage in every business is reliant on data transfers. These data transfers are done within the organization and sometimes externally. Irrespective of where the data is being shared, sometimes it might end up in the hands of unintended users or exploiters.

Risks:

1. Data exposure or leak can occur, and confidential information can become public.
2. Depending on the sensitivity of the data, enterprises can face regulatory consequences.
3. Data can be sold to rivals and vendors, posing a competitive disadvantage.

Remediations:

1. Enforce tags while sharing data in communication channels. Ensure users apply relevant tags when sending the data.
2. Apply security rules to filter outgoing data when external parties are involved.
3. Deploy teams to react to complaints and minimize the exposure.

Software Installation

Despite innovative processes and vision, the enterprise tech stack cannot make up for all the requirements. The need to rely on external software and services is common. Some software and services are approved by the enterprise as they showcase production readiness with promising benchmarks. Sometimes users will look for solutions that are good at delivering the requirement but are not secure.

These solutions or software introduce unknown and severe security risks due to their dependencies and the way they were architected or built. The unapproved solutions or software rarely comply with enterprise requirements, making them a threat.

Risks:

1. Data and logs are sent to third-party systems behind the scenes.
2. The depth dependency tree can make the risk factor n-dimensional.
3. Through the solutions or software, third parties can gain access to internal systems.

Remediations:

1. Allow only approved solutions and software to be used through strict IT processes.
2. Conduct regular system audits to filter and remove the risk factors.
3. Increase awareness among users about not choosing the risky path.

External Integrations

Businesses need integration with external vendors and services. These integrations are carefully designed and implemented with security and architecture teams. Sometimes, internal teams attempt to enable external access to third parties for data and system access. This attempt can be intentional or unintentional.

Risks:

1. Overall system compromise and data exposure to external parties.
2. Risk of user manipulation and system takeovers.
3. Unreliable systems with backdoor access to both enterprise and vendor systems.

Remediations:

1. Implement network restrictions and tighten the system design.
2. Follow enterprise-level integration and vendor onboarding best practices.
3. Continuously monitor the integrations and systems.

Unauthorized Accesses

Attackers and internal teams will attempt to gain access to sensitive and confidential information for monetary advantages and dominance. They attempt to access storage systems, databases, and business-critical applications to connect and scrape information. Usually, enterprises are well-equipped to restrict unauthorized access. Rarely will insecure deployments and integrations expose the data and system to the exploiters.

Risks:

1. Data exposures and system compromises.
2. Weak security with unreliable systems.
3. Compliance and regulatory risks.

Remediations:

1. Leverage strict IAM policies and system access protocols.
2. Enable access logging and real-time behavioral analysis.
3. Build awareness and educate the users through security courses.

Conclusion

Enterprise security is very crucial, and should be managed and maintained with high importance. Among many security issues, shadow IT is a severe risk. Shadow IT starts swarming from within the enterprise and can become challenging to identify and fix. Additional measures, along with time and resources, need to be invested to isolate and remediate shadow IT. Failing to consider its risks can place the enterprise in a web of regulatory troubles.

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