Why “It’s Always Worked This Way” Can Quietly Create IT Risk

Article summary: Most IT workarounds start innocently: a spreadsheet that tracks shared passwords, a personal cloud account used for large file transfers, a tool someone found that solves a real problem faster than the approved option. Over time, these habits create invisible gaps that the business can’t monitor or secure. Understanding where workarounds live in your business, and why they develop, is the first step toward closing the risk without disrupting the work.

There is a spreadsheet somewhere in most small businesses that nobody intentionally built. It started as a quick fix, grew into a habit, and now sits in someone’s documents folder doing the work of a system that should exist but doesn’t.

It works. That is the problem.

Workarounds are efficient by definition. They solve a real problem faster than the official process. They also create risks that tend to stay invisible until something goes wrong. 

 An IT review typically reveals several of these in nearly every business.

Where Workarounds Come From

Employees don’t create workarounds out of carelessness. They create them because something isn’t working fast enough.

Slow IT response times drive 38% of employees toward shadow IT, according to JumpCloud. 

A tool that takes two weeks to get approved will be bypassed by a free alternative in two minutes. That’s rational behavior. The problem is what happens after.

Once a workaround proves effective, it fades into the background. The person who created it moves on, hands it off, or forgets where it lives. No one questions it because it still works. Over time, it becomes part of the infrastructure.

What Makes These Habits Risky Over Time

The security issue with workarounds usually isn’t dramatic. It builds slowly and stays out of sight.

Josys reports that nearly half of all cyberattacks are linked to shadow IT usage, with average remediation costs exceeding $4.2 million per incident.

CrowdStrike describes the core problem plainly: you can’t protect what you can’t see. 

A personal Dropbox account used to share large files, a WhatsApp group for client updates, a shared login that never gets changed. None of these appear on an IT inventory, and security tools can’t reach what they don’t know about.

According to JumpCloud, 42% of the average company’s applications are the result of shadow IT. That figure includes tools IT doesn’t know about, apps that were never vetted, and services running on personal accounts connected to company data.

The Specific Things Worth Checking

Not all workarounds carry the same risk. Four categories tend to matter most.

1. Shared logins and passwords stored outside approved tools

Accounts that multiple people use under a single credential make access impossible to trace.

When someone leaves, the account isn’t tied to a specific person, so no one thinks to update it. If it’s ever compromised, there’s no clear way to tell who used it or when.

2. Personal cloud storage used for company files

A file moved to a personal Google Drive or Dropbox has left your business’s control. You can’t audit who views it, and you can’t control what happens if that person’s personal account is compromised. 

The data leaves your environment the moment it lands there.

3. Software nobody is actively using

Unused applications still hold credentials and still have access. They also represent an attack surface with lower monitoring than active tools. 

Unmanaged apps often run with default or poorly configured security settings, which can make them easier targets for attackers.

4. Manual steps that bypass a security control

When a step in a process feels too cumbersome, someone finds a way around it. That shortcut might skip a log, a permission check, or an authentication step, and months later, it’s still doing exactly that.

A Simple Review That Changes the Picture

This doesn’t require a formal audit project. It requires honest questions and a bit of time.

A useful review asks three things. What tools and systems are people actually using day to day? Which of those sit outside IT’s visibility? And what would happen to your data if any one of those were compromised?

Strong network security and solid credential management practices don’t cover tools they can’t see. Getting workarounds onto the approved list, or replacing them with supported alternatives, is how visibility gets restored.

Make it a quarterly habit rather than a crisis response. Pick a time, run through the questions, and close the gaps you find. For most businesses, this can be completed in under an hour.

The Quiet Risks Are Usually the Fixable Ones

Small businesses that have been running for a few years usually have more workarounds than they realize. None were created with bad intent; most reflect real gaps that can be addressed.

C Solutions IT works with businesses across Central Florida to find and address these issues before they become incidents. Contact us at csolutionsit.com/contact.

Article FAQs

What is shadow IT?

Shadow IT refers to software, tools, apps, and cloud services that employees use without the knowledge or approval of the IT department. It usually starts as a workaround for a real productivity need but creates security gaps because those tools aren’t monitored, vetted, or integrated with the business’s security controls.

Why are workarounds risky if they’ve been working fine?

“Working fine” means nobody has noticed a problem yet. A personal cloud account used for file sharing has been outside your control since the first file landed in it. 

What kinds of workarounds are most common in small businesses?

The most common ones involve file sharing through personal cloud storage, communication through personal messaging apps, credential management through shared logins or password spreadsheets, and software use through free tools adopted because the approved version was unavailable or too slow. Each category carries different levels of risk.

How do I know if my business has a shadow IT problem?

Ask your team directly what tools they use daily, and what they reach for when the official option is too slow or doesn’t work. Most employees will tell you if the question is genuine rather than confrontational. An IT audit can then confirm what’s actually connecting to your network and accounts.

Is shadow IT always a serious risk?

Not always immediately. Some unauthorized tools carry lower risk than others. The danger lies in the pattern over time: tools that haven’t been vetted, accounts that aren’t monitored, and data that moves to places nobody is tracking.