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How to manage shadow IT and reduce your attack surface. In today's fast-paced business environment, employees increasingly turn to unauthorized IT solutions to streamline their work and boost productivity. Known as "shadow IT," these systems, devices, software, and services operate outside the purview of your organization's IT department. And while it’s often adopted with good intentions, shadow IT can introduce significant security risks, compliance issues, and hidden costs.  This article explores the prevalence of shadow IT, the risks it poses and discusses strategies for managing shadow IT, including solutions that enable the continuous discovery of unknown IT assets. Shadow IT examples and costs The rise of shadow IT can be attributed to several factors, driven by the need for efficiency and frustration with rigid IT processes. Employees often resort to unauthorized solutions, such as unapproved collaboration tools, to overcome these obstacles. This trend is particularly prevalent among remote teams, where effective communication is crucial. Another contributing factor is the widespread availability of cloud services. With user-friendly applications readily accessible, employees can easily implement tools without going through official IT channels. Shadow IT takes various forms, including the use of personal devices for work, adoption of unauthorized cloud services for file sharing and collaboration, utilization of unapproved productivity apps and communication tools, and deployment of software without IT's knowledge. However, the prevalence of shadow IT poses significant security and financial risks to organizations. Research findings highlight the severity of the issue: Mitigating shadow IT risks To effectively mitigate the risks associated with shadow IT, your organization should adopt a comprehensive approach that encompasses the following strategies: One promising solution for efficiently managing shadow IT and controlling your organization's attack surface is the adoption of External Attack Surface Management (EASM) tools. These tools facilitate continuous discovery, analysis, and monitoring of all entities connected to your company's online exposure. By taking an outside-in approach, EASM empowers you to identify previously unknown assets, enhancing your overall security posture and enabling proactive risk mitigation. The role of EASM in managing shadow IT  To enhance your organization's cyber resilience against the risks of shadow IT, it is recommended to invest in a robust EASM solution provided by Outpost24. This powerful tool provides real-time discovery, analysis, and monitoring of all internet-facing assets connected to your organization. With its interactive dashboard, you gain a comprehensive view of your live attack surface, enabling you to quickly identify and prioritize vulnerabilities for remediation. This helps you allocate resources effectively and address the most critical risks first. To further streamline the remediation process, Outpost24’s EASM solution seamlessly integrates with popular platforms such as AWS, Azure, Cortex XSOAR, Jira, and ServiceNow. These integrations ensure a smooth workflow and enable efficient collaboration between different teams and systems. A powerful way to illuminate the shadows In today's fast-paced work environment, employees often resort to unauthorized shadow IT solutions to enhance productivity. However, it is crucial for organizations to recognize and address the inherent security, compliance, and productivity risks associated with such practices.  EASM provides a powerful way to illuminate the shadows — allowing your organization to regain control over its attack surface and ultimately mitigate the real risks associated with shadow IT. Get started with your free attack surface analysis. Sponsored and written by Specops Software.