How to know if your company has shadow IT — without hiring a consultant
How to know if your company has shadow IT (without hiring a consultant)
Shadow IT sounds mysterious — but it's one of the most common and dangerous problems in cloud-era companies.
And no, you don't need a consultant or security audit to find it.
Here's how to detect shadow IT fast — and why it matters more than you think.
What is shadow IT?
Shadow IT refers to any cloud service, app, or system used by your company that hasn't been approved, secured, or even noticed by your IT team.
It includes things like:
- Tools employees signed up for without telling IT (e.g. Notion, Calendly, AI tools)
- Old subdomains from past projects still live online
- Third-party SaaS platforms connected to your data via API
- Dev environments or test instances that were never cleaned up
These are all entry points attackers can use — and most companies have dozens.
Why is shadow IT risky?
- You can't protect what you can't see
- These tools often lack MFA, security reviews, or offboarding policies
- If breached, they can leak sensitive customer data, code, or credentials
- They increase your compliance risk (especially under GDPR or ISO 27001)
Even small startups have shadow IT. Especially if they move fast.
Signs your company has shadow IT
You likely have shadow IT if:
- You don't maintain an up-to-date asset inventory
- Teams use their own tools (marketing, ops, devs)
- Developers have full freedom to spin up services
- You've switched agencies or SaaS providers in the last 12-24 months
How to detect shadow IT (without hiring a consultant)
Option 1: Do it manually
- Review all invoices and corporate cards for subscriptions
- Ask every team to submit a list of tools they use
- Search for live subdomains or apps tied to your main domain
This takes time, but it's a start.
Option 2: Use Tresal
- Enter your company domain into Tresal
- Get a real-time map of all public-facing digital assets (even ones you didn't know existed)
- Spot shadow SaaS tools, exposed subdomains, APIs, and more
No setup. No agent. Just visibility.
What to do once you find it
- Classify: Is it low-risk (e.g. a project planning tool) or high-risk (e.g. open database)?
- Remediate: Shut it down, secure it, or bring it under IT control
- Monitor: Set up alerts for new unknown assets appearing in the future
Tresal helps you do all 3.
Conclusion
Shadow IT isn't just a security problem. It's a visibility problem.
And most companies have more than they think.
Tresal helps you find what's flying under the radar — so you can fix it before it becomes a breach.
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Matthias
CPO & Cyber Security Enthusiast
CPO bridging product strategy and cybersecurity—sharing insights on secure product design, attack surface awareness, and platform risk management.
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