KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, has announced a new report from KnowBe4 Research, Shadow IT Is Real, which revealed that shadow IT is a real risk for organizations with half of employees using unauthorized file services to complete work.
This research report examines the prevalence of two common insecure practices using survey responses from over 435,000 participants across global regions and industries. The first analysis covers the use of unauthorized cloud services to store information and communicate in the workplace. The second analysis reviews the prevalence of downloading content through unauthorized file sharing networks using work computers.
Highlights from the findings include:
- Asia and Oceania are regions with worryingly high rates of both practices, while Africa is consistently the best performing.
- Finance and technology-based industries are comparatively better than many other industries, while construction, manufacturing, educational and government-based organizations are the poorest performing.
Kai Roer, Chief Research Officer, KnowBe4, said: “To combat shadow IT, organizations should focus on strengthening their security culture and increasing employees’ level of security awareness. It is especially important for employees to understand and take responsibility for how their insecure behaviors can ultimately affect the organization’s reputation and bottom line.”
