Shadow IT Discovery

Your IT team approved 12 apps.
Your staff are using 140.

Every unapproved app, browser extension, and cloud service your team uses without IT's knowledge is Shadow IT. It's happening in every business — and most IT managers have no idea of the true scale. We find it all.

Certified CyberCert Partner
Melbourne-based engineers
Book a Shadow IT Discovery
80%
Of employees use apps their IT team hasn't approved
10x
More cloud services in use than IT departments estimate
$4M+
Average cost of a data breach — often traced back to an unapproved app

Why It Happens

"Our staff know better than to install things without permission."

That's what most IT managers tell us. Then we run a discovery — and within hours, we're showing them Dropbox, ChatGPT, Grammarly, Notion, Calendly, personal Gmail, WhatsApp Web, and a handful of browser extensions that nobody in IT has ever reviewed. All active. All connected to business accounts.

It's not malicious. Staff are trying to get their jobs done. When the approved toolset is slow, hard to use, or doesn't exist yet — people find alternatives. The problem is those alternatives often have direct access to business data, email, and calendars.

The risk isn't hypothetical. Shadow IT has been the entry point in some of Australia's biggest breaches. An employee signs up to a third-party service with their corporate email. That service gets breached. Credentials get sold. Attackers walk into your environment through the side door you didn't know existed.

What we typically find

  • Personal cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive) syncing work files
  • AI writing and productivity tools with email access
  • Free project management tools containing client data
  • Browser extensions reading page content and form data
  • Messaging apps bypassing your communication policies
  • Unapproved password managers shared across teams

The Real Risk

Shadow IT isn't just an IT problem — it's a business liability

Unapproved technology creates gaps in your security, your compliance, and your operational control that you can't close if you can't see them.

Data Exposure

Business data stored in unapproved services falls outside your backup, encryption, and access control policies. When that service is breached or shut down, your data goes with it.

Compliance Failures

If you're subject to the Privacy Act, ISO 27001, or industry regulations, you're responsible for how data is handled — even if an employee chose the tool without your knowledge.

Credential Sprawl

Staff reusing corporate passwords across shadow apps creates a daisy-chain of exposure. One breach at an obscure SaaS product becomes a foothold into your main systems.

Operational Blind Spots

When an employee leaves and takes their shadow tools with them, business data, client records, and work history can walk out the door — permanently.

Wasted Spend

You're likely paying for approved tools that do exactly what shadow tools do — but staff don't use the approved version. Visibility means you can consolidate, cancel, and save.

Supply Chain Exposure

Shadow apps often have their own integrations and third-party connections. A tool your accountant installed in good faith may be connected to dozens of services you've never heard of.

Our Approach

Discover. Classify. Control.

We don't just produce a report and leave. We help you build a sustainable approach to managing technology across your organisation — one that gives staff the tools they need while keeping your data protected.

1

Discovery

We analyse your network traffic, DNS queries, Microsoft 365 OAuth grants, and browser activity to build a complete picture of every app and service your organisation is using.

2

Classification

Each discovered app is classified by risk level, data access permissions, compliance posture, and business function — giving you a prioritised list of what to address first.

3

Remediation

We work with your team to block high-risk apps, revoke OAuth permissions, migrate data from unapproved services, and establish approved alternatives where needed.

4

Policy & Ongoing Monitoring

We help you implement an IT procurement policy, configure ongoing monitoring, and set up alerts so new shadow apps are identified before they become a risk.

What you receive

  • Complete app inventory with risk classifications
  • OAuth permission audit for Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace
  • Prioritised remediation plan
  • Data exposure summary by department
  • SaaS spend analysis and consolidation opportunities
  • IT procurement policy template
  • Briefing session with IT team and management

Book your Shadow IT Discovery

We'll get back to you within one business day to schedule your discovery session.

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You can't secure what you can't see

Shadow IT grows silently. The sooner you know what's running in your environment, the sooner you can protect it.

Book Your Shadow IT Discovery