When business owners think of IT threats, they usually picture hackers, phishing emails, or malware attacks. But there’s another danger hiding in plain sight, one that doesn’t come from outside your company, but from within.
It’s called Shadow IT, and chances are, it’s already happening in your business.
What is Shadow IT?
Shadow IT refers to employees using technology, apps, or devices without the knowledge or approval of your IT team. Examples of this can be:
- Employees using programs that they have a personal account with, rather than the provided applications.
- Staff using free cloud storage (like Dropbox or Google Drive) instead of the approved system.
- Teams sharing files on personal email instead of secure company channels.
- Employees downloading free task apps or messaging tools to “get work done faster.”
On the surface, this seems harmless, even helpful. But in reality, it can create serious risks for your business.
Why Do Employees Use Shadow IT?
In many cases, your staff aren’t actually intending to act maliciously, or cause any issues. They are simply trying to do their jobs, but in a way that suits themselves more than the business. This can include:
- Convenience: Staff will simply use whatever they may be used to, or have a bit more experience with, as opposed to the company issued programs/apps. “This app is easier to use than the company system.”
- Speed: Due largely to the convenience mentioned above, many employees will then utilise what they are used to, to increase the speed in which they can perform tasks. “I can get this done faster without waiting for IT approval.”
- Familiarity: It may simply be a program or app that they use in their personal life, so they see themselves as experienced enough to use in the workplace. “I use this tool at home, so I know it works.”
The problem? These shortcuts can bypass security protections, create compliance issues, and open the door to costly problems.
5 Hidden Risks of Shadow IT
1. Security Vulnerabilities
When employees use apps or devices without IT approval, those tools often bypass the company’s security protocols. Free or consumer-grade apps may lack encryption, multifactor authentication, or proper patching. This creates “back doors” for cybercriminals. For example, staff using a personal file-sharing app might unknowingly upload sensitive documents to an unsecured server, making data accessible to hackers. One weak link in your IT environment can lead to a significant data breach.
2. Compliance and Legal Issues
Many industries in Australia, such as healthcare, education, law, and finance, must comply with strict data protection and privacy regulations (like the Privacy Act or industry-specific standards). Shadow IT often stores client or staff information outside of approved systems, meaning it falls outside compliance frameworks. If regulators audit your business and discover untracked apps holding sensitive data, you could face legal action, hefty fines, or even lose licenses and accreditations.
3. Data Loss and Ownership Problems
When employees use personal devices, email accounts, or cloud services, the business no longer has full control over its data. If that employee leaves, takes their laptop, or loses access to a personal Dropbox account, critical business information could disappear overnight. Worse still, if disputes arise, it becomes nearly impossible to prove ownership of data that lives in personal accounts. Without Managed IT oversight, you may never even know what data has gone missing.
4. Hidden Costs and Inefficiency
Shadow IT often looks like a “free” solution, but the hidden costs add up quickly. Multiple departments might adopt their own tools for the same job, creating fragmented workflows and duplicated data. Staff waste time entering information across different platforms or fixing errors caused by inconsistent systems. Instead of improving productivity, incorrect IT practices lead to confusion, inefficiency, and wasted resources. On top of that, if an issue arises, IT support may need to spend extra hours untangling unfamiliar tools, costing the business even more.
5. Lack of IT Visibility and Control
Your IT team can only protect what they know about. With shadow IT, apps and devices fly under the radar, creating blind spots in your security and operations. Without visibility, IT can’t patch potential vulnerabilities, monitor suspicious activity, or integrate systems properly. This lack of oversight means problems can go undetected until they escalate into major issues, whether that’s a cyberattack, data breach, or critical outage. Simply put, what your IT team can’t see, they can’t protect.
How to Identify Shadow IT Within your Business
There are a number of signs that businesses can keep an eye out for when it comes to identifying the presence of shadow IT. Unfortunately, it can often only appear when a problem arises, which is why it can be so dangerous. However, some signs you can look out for are:
- Staff emailing files to personal accounts.
- Multiple tools being used for the same purpose.
- IT teams discovering software or apps they didn’t approve.
- Inconsistent data across departments.
How Adept IT Solutions Managed IT Services can Help
The good news is that Shadow IT doesn’t have to be an inevitable part of your workplace. With the right Managed IT Services in place, you can bring hidden technology use into the light and replace it with secure, efficient, and fully supported solutions.
A Managed IT Services provider, such as the team here at Adept IT Solutions, takes a proactive approach to technology management. Rather than reacting to issues as they arise, they work continuously behind the scenes to monitor your systems, detect unauthorised applications, and identify unusual activity before it becomes a problem. By gaining visibility across your entire IT environment, they can uncover where staff are using unapproved tools and assess why, often revealing gaps in your current systems or processes that need improvement.
Once those risks are identified, a managed IT partner doesn’t just lock everything down; they find better alternatives. Many instances of Shadow IT begin because employees are looking for faster, easier ways to get their work done. A good IT provider listens to those needs and implements secure, approved tools that achieve the same goal, without compromising compliance or data protection. This balance of security and usability keeps your team productive while maintaining full control of business information.
Managed IT Services also ensure that your security measures stay up to date. Regular system patching, endpoint monitoring, and threat detection help reduce the vulnerabilities that make Shadow IT so dangerous in the first place. Additionally, your provider can establish clear technology policies, run staff awareness training, and educate teams on the risks of using unapproved software. When employees understand why security matters, they’re far more likely to follow best practices.
Perhaps most importantly, Managed IT Services gives business owners confidence. With expert IT services, you know where your data lives, who has access to it, and how it’s being protected. You gain a single, consistent environment where all business tools are integrated, managed, and monitored, removing the guesswork and hidden risks that come with incorrect IT practices.
Looking to secure your systems and data? The team here at Adept IT Solutions has over 20 years providing expert IT Support services to our valued clients. Contact us today, and take the next step towards a cyber safe business. You can reach out via phone at 1300 423 378 or simply email us at info@adept-it.com.au.
