Shadow IT

Shadow IT means using apps, cloud services or devices for work without the knowledge or approval of the organisation's IT or security team. Examples include sending work files through a personal file-sharing account, using a free online converter for confidential documents, running a team project in an unapproved chat app, or signing up for a new AI tool with a work email. People usually do it with good intentions, to work faster. The risk is that the organisation cannot protect, monitor, back up or delete data it does not know exists, and the service may keep copies or have weak security. The better path is to tell IT what you need so they can approve a safe option.