‘Shadow AV’ may be the reason companies crack down on employees bringing their own devices to work. While it may sound nefarious, Shadow AV simply refers to the use of any unauthorized tech in the workplace, which could be anything from a personal laptop or Bluetooth speaker to a webcam.
According to a recent study by Kinly, over half of companies surveyed (52%) are considering banning personal devices in the office. Personal devices are increasingly being seen as a security blind spot on two fronts–first, they can be used as an unsecured entryway into a company’s network by bad actors. Survey data shows a dip of over 10% of strong security measures and encryption on in-office devices versus personal devices.Second, companies are seeing an influx of unauthorized AI usage in the workplace, most of which stems from personal devices.
“[Personal devices are] unmanaged, unmonitored, and opening up serious threats – from ransomware attacks to regulatory fines,” says Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Kinly, Don Gibson. “If you’re not treating all devices as part of your security perimeter, you’ve already lost control.”
See also: Bluetooth vulnerabilities enable unauthorized eavesdropping
