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Find the unapproved apps and AI tools your team is already using, understand the risk, and replace them with secure, approved alternatives. Practical shadow IT security for London businesses.
Your team is very likely using apps and AI tools your IT team has never approved. That is shadow IT. Speedster IT helps London businesses find it, understand the risk, and replace it with secure, approved tools, without slowing anyone down.
Shadow IT covers any app, cloud service or device used for work without IT’s knowledge. Shadow AI is a fast-growing part of it: staff pasting client emails, contracts or financial data into free AI chatbots. Our shadow IT security services sit alongside our wider cyber security services and zero trust security, giving you visibility and control over where your business data really goes.
Firewalls, MFA and backups only protect the systems you know about. Every unapproved app is a place where business data can be stored, shared or exposed with none of those controls around it.
Apps and cloud services used for work without IT approval, such as personal file-sharing accounts, free project tools, browser extensions or a team signing up to a new SaaS platform on a company card.
AI tools used without approval or controls, most often free versions of chatbots where staff paste in client, HR or financial information. Read our plain-English guide to shadow AI.
Client and company data ends up in accounts you don’t own or control, and can’t easily recover or delete.
Personal data processed in unapproved tools may breach your GDPR obligations. Our shadow AI and GDPR guide explains why.
Unapproved apps usually sit outside your MFA and sign-in policies, making them an easy target for attackers.
When someone leaves, their personal SaaS accounts holding company data don’t leave with your offboarding process.
A practical, four-step process that gives you visibility first, then control.
We identify the apps, cloud services and AI tools in use across your business, including third-party apps staff have connected to your Microsoft 365 tenant.
Each app is reviewed for what data it holds, who uses it and how it is secured, so you can see where the real risk sits.
Together we decide what to approve, replace or block, then put the right sign-in, sharing and app-consent settings in place.
New apps appear all the time. Ongoing monitoring, including WatchGuard CloudDR for clients who need dedicated SaaS monitoring, flags changes as they happen.
Banning AI rarely works. Staff just use it quietly. The better answer is a secure, approved alternative.
We help you choose and set up business-grade AI that keeps your data protected. See our guide to the best AI tools for enterprise with secure data and our secure AI for business services.
Clear, simple rules on which AI tools staff can use and what information should never be shared with them.
Short, practical cyber security training so your team understands the risks and the approved way of working.
Sharing, sign-in and access settings that reduce the chance of sensitive information leaving the business.
Shadow IT control supports a zero trust approach, where every app and sign-in is verified rather than assumed safe.
Bringing apps under central sign-in means they can be protected by your MFA policies.
Cloud services used for business are in scope for Cyber Essentials, so knowing what you use matters for Cyber Essentials certification.
Staff often reuse passwords across unapproved apps. Dark web monitoring flags exposed credentials.
Deep experience securing Microsoft 365, where many unapproved apps connect.
Access to WatchGuard’s cloud and endpoint security platform.
We hold the same certification we help our clients achieve.
Practical, jargon-free advice from a team that supports London businesses every day.
We help you approve safe tools your team actually wants to use, rather than relying on bans that get worked around.
Shadow IT control works alongside the MFA, zero trust and dark web monitoring we already provide, not as a separate project.
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Talk to our team about a shadow IT review for your business.
Shadow IT is any app, cloud service or device used for work without the knowledge or approval of your IT team, such as personal file-sharing accounts, free project management tools or browser extensions.
Shadow AI is the use of AI tools, such as free AI chatbots, without approval or security controls. The main risk is staff pasting client, HR or financial information into tools the business does not control.
It can be. If personal data is stored or processed in unapproved tools, the business may not know where that data is, who can access it or how to delete it, which makes it harder to meet GDPR obligations.
We review the third-party apps staff have connected to your Microsoft 365 tenant, check sign-in and sharing activity, and look at the cloud services in use across your devices and network. For clients who need it, dedicated SaaS monitoring such as WatchGuard CloudDR keeps watch on an ongoing basis.
A blanket ban rarely works because staff tend to keep using AI quietly. A better approach is to provide a secure, approved AI tool, set a clear acceptable-use policy and train staff on what should never be shared.
Yes. Cloud services used for business are in scope for Cyber Essentials, so unapproved apps without MFA or proper controls can cause problems at assessment. Knowing exactly what you use is an important first step.
Yes. Shadow IT is often a bigger risk for small and medium-sized businesses because they have fewer IT resources to spot it. We scale the review and ongoing monitoring to the size of your business.
Get in touch for an initial conversation. We will discuss how your team works, the tools you already use and your main concerns, then recommend a review scoped to your business. Call 0204 511 9111 or email hello@speedster-it.com.
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