John McLoughlin, CEO of J2 and a cybersecurity specialist, discusses why Shadow AI is becoming one of the most significant threats facing enterprises today.
AI did not arrive with board approval or a security checklist. It entered through productivity tools; drafting emails, generating code, automating workflows and enhancing support systems in ways that felt efficient and harmless.
This is how Shadow AI takes hold. It emerges through behaviour, and has become one of the most significant risks businesses carry.
Shadow AI refers to artificial intelligence systems operating without oversight, approval or governance. Employees use tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity or Claude for client work. AI functionality is embedded inside SaaS platforms. Internal models are trained on company data, with no clarity on data flows or storage.
External AI agents may hold excessive access rights. Bots can read sensitive information, send emails, create files or delete them. These systems are productive and efficient, but often invisible. Invisibility creates exposure.
Threat actors are already weaponising AI in live attacks. AI-driven phishing campaigns scale and adapt faster than human-led operations. Malware is generated and modified continuously to bypass traditional detection controls.
Self-learning agents probe cloud environments for weak identity controls. Credentials are stolen and misused. Employees are impersonated across email, chat and voice. These attacks are occurring in active enterprise environments.
Cyber resilience now extends beyond users, devices and networks. Machines act on behalf of organisations. Non-human identities move data, make decisions and trigger actions fast. When these identities are not visible or governed, they become high-value entry points.
Gartner identifies Shadow AI as a critical blind spot for CIOs and cybersecurity leaders. A survey of decision-makers found that 69% of organisations suspect or have evidence of employees using prohibited AI tools. Gartner also predicts that by 2030, more than 40% of enterprises will face security or compliance incidents linked to unauthorised Shadow AI.
AI innovation does not need to stop. It needs governance, visibility and control. Organisations adopting AI, whether formally or informally, should treat oversight as a core security priority.
Enterprise-grade cybersecurity from a reputable partner ensures that AI systems, identities and automation layers are visible, monitored and governed.
Remember, you cannot protect what you cannot see.
