Spotlight On 'Shadow IT'
Unauthorized software on government computers is on the rise. Resisting it is futile but managing it isn't. The latest issue of Government Executive magazine features a column by yours truly that focuses on this "shadow IT" phenomenon.
Here's a snippet from the story:
America Online, eBay, Google, iTunes, MySpace, instant messaging, Yahoo, YouTube. What would life, or work, be like without these and other popular Internet-driven diversions?
Today's workers are tech savvy, and government employees are no exception. They want and use the latest applications. Whether their information technology administrators like it or not, federal workers are using the software to be more productive or, at times, to be entertained.
These un-approved applications don't come from agency IT shops, though; employees are downloading them directly off the Internet. The practice has become so widespread in all kinds of organizations that it now has its own descriptor: shadow IT.
The problem is that shadow IT poses security risks. The applications could have vulnerabilities that provide the holes hackers need to access employee computers and government networks and steal information or install malware.
Read the full article here.
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