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Has Your IT Been Left in the Dark?

By Bill Mann, Chief Product Officer, Centrify

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According to research by Elastica, most companies today are using over 500 cloud
applications, and while the applications themselves may seem to be secure, employees are
increasingly using them without IT’s knowledge or involvement – opening up potential security
risks and often violating corporate regulations.

This use of unauthorized cloud applications, known as Shadow IT, presents something of a
dilemma for businesses. On the one hand, it presents an easy solution for departments looking
to make cost savings with zero infrastructure requirements, and avoids the time needed to make
a request to IT, which then has to approve and procure the software.

On the other hand, using these applications can pose a variety of security risks. Allowing them
to be used indiscriminately without putting the right security controls in place could lead to a
security breach, putting everyone at risk.

It is easy (and tempting) however, for staff to circumvent corporate IT policies by introducing
these applications, speeding up the process of acquiring what they feel they need to do their
job. If IT denies access to such applications, they are seen as impeding productivity.

A recent report by CipherCloud revealed that enterprises vastly underestimate the extent of
Shadow IT within their organizations.

The statistics highlighted that on average 86 percent of cloud applications are unsanctioned.

A poll at Cloud Expo in London this year by Centrify showed that over two-thirds of
organizations admit cloud applications implemented without IT’s knowledge or involvement pose
a security risk to the business.

While just half of respondents were confident that less than 10 percent of applications were
implemented in this way, it supports the theory that the extent of the problem is being hugely
underestimated.

Just a few years ago such things would have been unthinkable, with applications tightly
controlled and procured through the IT department.

But with the consumerization of IT – driven by the proliferation of mobile devices and prevalence
of cloud applications – our behavior has changed, despite the growing number of security
threats and daily headlines about serious breaches.

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http://www.centrify.com/resources/4277-top-7-ways-to-protect-your-data-in-the-face-o

15 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – May 2015 Edition
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