CyberWire Daily - shadow IT (noun) [Word Notes]

Episode Date: November 11, 2020

As we are not publishing in observance of Veterans Day, we thought you might like to check out a couple of episodes of our weekly Word Notes short form podcast that comes out on Tuesdays. Check it out and subscribe today! Technology, software and hardware deployed without explicit organizational approval. In the early days of the computer era from the 1980s through the 2000s security and information system practitioners considered shadow IT as completely negative. Those unauthorized systems were nothing more than a hindrance that created more technical debt in organizations that were already swimming in it with the known and authorized systems.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to the Cyber Wire Network, powered by N2K. and VPNs, yet breaches continue to rise by an 18% year-over-year increase in ransomware attacks and a $75 million record payout in 2024. These traditional security tools expand your attack surface with public-facing IPs that are exploited by bad actors more easily than ever with AI tools. It's time to rethink your security. Thank you. Learn more at zscaler.com slash security. The word is shadow IT. As in shadow, meaning without authority, and IT, meaning the information technology that people use to do their work. Definition. Technology, software and hardware deployed without explicit organizational approval.

Example sentence. Shadow IT grew out of pure necessity as increasingly tech-savvy employees sought out their own solutions to specific line-of-business problems. Context. In the early days of the computer era, from the 1980s through the 2000s, security and information system practitioners considered shadow IT as completely negative. Those unauthorized systems were nothing more than a hindrance that created more technical debt in organizations that were already swimming in it

with the known and authorized systems. Further, shadow IT increased the attack surface because the security apparatus didn't know about it and therefore couldn't protect it. In recent years, those same practitioners still consider shadow IT in a negative light, but also have realized that by allowing employees to try things on their own in a controlled environment designed by the organization for that purpose, helps individuals, business units, and the entire outfit innovate and provide solutions to business problems in a more efficient and timely manner. nerd reference in the william gibson short story burning chrome first published in omni magazine in july 1982 and nominated for the coveted nebula award in 1983 the narrator the hacker named

automated jack says quote the street finds its own uses for things, end quote. According to Joey Davila on his Global Nerdy blog site, this phrase has become an often quoted aphorism used to explain that people often find unintended uses for technology. But in terms of shadow IT, this quote can be equally applied. In this case, the street refers to the organization's employees and own uses for things are the shadow IT they deploy. Gibson is famous for coining the term cyberspace in this short story, but it didn't catch on in the cyberpunk zeitgeist until he reused it in his classic cyberpunk novel, Narrowmancer, in 1984. Hey everybody, Dave here. Have you ever wondered where your personal information is lurking online?

Like many of you, I was concerned about my data being sold by data brokers. So I decided to try Delete.me. I have to say, Delete.me is a game changer. Within days of signing up, they started removing my personal information from hundreds of data brokers. I finally have peace of mind knowing my data privacy is protected. Delete.me's team does all the work for you with detailed reports so you know exactly what's been done. Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for Delete.me. Now at a special discount for our listeners. Today, get 20% off your Delete Me plan when you go to joindeleteme.com slash n2k and use promo code n2k at checkout.

The only way to get 20% off is to go to joindeleteme.com slash n2k and enter code n2k at checkout. That's joindeleteme.com slash N2K, code N2K.