There is no secret that many people use their work devices for personal use. With the rise of smartphones and tablets, keeping your work life separate from your home life can be challenging.
This article discusses what this means for companies regarding security and productivity and offers some tips on dealing with Shadow IT if you struggle with it.
What is Shadow IT?
Shadow IT is the unofficial, unauthorized, and unapproved use of company resources for personal or business use. It can take many forms, such as using an office computer to check your social media accounts, using work phones, tablets, or laptops for personal use, and using a work network connection to access personal email.
Despite the benefits of Shadow IT (discussed below), risks and challenges are associated with it.
What are the benefits of shadow IT?
There are several benefits to using Shadow IT in a business setting. Here are a few of them:
- Increased employee productivity – When employees can use the tools and applications they are most comfortable with, they are often more productive.
- Cost savings – Businesses can save money by avoiding the costs of purchasing and maintaining company-approved devices and applications.
- Increased creativity and innovation – Businesses may find that allowing employees to use their devices and applications increases their creativity and innovation.
While there are benefits to using Shadow IT in a business setting, weighing the risks and challenges is essential. Businesses should consider overcoming the risks and challenges of Shadow IT to realize its benefits fully.
What are the risks?
Below are a few of the most common risks of shadow IT:
- A lack of security awareness and training may lead to employees inadvertently exposing sensitive company data.
- Unauthorized applications and devices may pose a security risk, as the company may not have approved them or enabled the necessary security features.
- Shadow IT can create data silos as company data spreads across various personal devices and applications. That can make it challenging to track and manage company information.
- Data loss or theft is more significant potential when company data is stored on personal devices or applications.
How to mitigate the risks of shadow IT
To address these risks and challenges, businesses should consider the following:
- Invest in security awareness training to mitigate the risk of employees inadvertently exposing company data.
- Establish clear policies on acceptable and unacceptable use of Shadow IT to prevent using unauthorized applications or devices in the workplace.
- Work with employees to determine how best to collaborate to establish a shared vision for managing company data across multiple personal devices and applications. That can help prevent data loss/theft caused by spreading company data across various personal devices and applications.
- Allow employees some leeway in using their preferred applications, but ensure that company-approved security features are enabled on all devices before being allowed onto corporate networks.
Applying these measures will help protect sensitive corporate information from getting compromised.
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About the Author
Hasnain Khalid is a passionate streaming and security enthusiast, who has proved his expertise on renowned tech publishers. With a keen eye for online safety and a love for all strеaming matters, Hasnain combinеs his еxpеrtisе to navigatе thе digital world with confidеncе and providе valuablе insights to usеrs worldwidе.
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