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Shadow AI: the new security challenge facing companies

The uncontrolled use of artificial intelligence tools is beginning to resemble old-school shadow IT, but with new risks concerning data and intellectual property.

CybersecuritySeintec Team2-3 min read
Shadow AI: the new security challenge facing companies

News summary

Generative artificial intelligence has integrated into daily workflows at a speed hard to compare with other business technologies. Employees in sales, technical, finance, or human resources departments are using AI assistants to summarise documents, write emails, analyse information, or generate code. The benefit can be enormous, but a new problem is also emerging: shadow AI.

The term describes the use of artificial intelligence tools without the knowledge or approval of the organisation. The primary risk lies not in the technology itself, but in the information entered into it. A contract, a client list, a snippet of code, or a financial forecast can end up being processed outside the company’s controlled systems.

Blocking all tools is usually unrealistic and can push usage towards even less visible channels. The most effective trend is to define authorised alternatives, establish simple rules regarding which data can be used, and provide practical training. It is also useful to distinguish between personal and corporate accounts and to activate, whenever possible, enterprise privacy and retention settings.

Another key point is the control of integrations. AI assistants connected to email, storage, or collaboration platforms can access large volumes of information. Before deploying them, it is advisable to review permissions, scope, activity logs, and revocation mechanisms.

AI can enhance productivity without becoming a security loophole. To achieve this, understandable policies and risk-proportionate controls are required.

A useful measure is to create a short list of permitted and prohibited uses, accompanied by real company examples. “You may summarise public documentation” is easier to implement than a twenty-page policy. It is also worth offering a pathway to request new AI tools, so that innovation and control do not compete with each other.

Why this matters to a company operating in Spain

The threat landscape affecting Spanish companies no longer distinguishes by size. Attacks are automated, sold as a service, and seek the shortest path: a reused credential, an unpatched server, or a provider with poorly controlled remote access. For an SME, the difference between a minor scare and a multi-day shutdown almost always depends on decisions made before the incident.

That is why every industry update should be read in operational terms: which specific controls would have prevented the problem, what evidence must be preserved, and who makes the decision when the clock is ticking. This is the approach we apply to managed cybersecurity projects at Seintec.

Real business impact

Before deciding on an investment, it is advisable to identify what is at stake. In cybersecurity projects, we typically review these four areas with management and the IT manager:

  • Operational disruption: orders, invoicing, or production halted while systems are restored.
  • Loss or exposure of personal data, with a mandatory 72-hour notification requirement to the AEPD.
  • Hidden cost of recovery: overtime, external hiring, and loss of client trust.
  • Contractual and compliance requirements (ENS, NIS2, ISO 27001) that demand evidence, not intentions.

Five-step action plan

A useful plan fits on one page. This is the roadmap we apply with our clients to move from news to measurable improvement, without disrupting daily operations:

  • Inventory: identifying which systems, data, and providers are involved. Without an inventory, prioritisation is impossible.
  • Assess the risk and the cost of doing nothing, in terms of downtime hours and euros.
  • Defining the measurable objective: availability, response time, monthly cost, or compliance level.
  • Implement in phases, starting with the system whose failure would hurt the business most.
  • Verify with real testing and review indicators every quarter.

Key indicators you should be measuring

What is not measured is not managed. These indicators allow you to verify if the technological investment is yielding results and serve as the basis for the periodic reports we deliver to our clients:

  • Mean time to detection (MTTD) and mean time to response (MTTR) for incidents.
  • Percentage of endpoints with up-to-date patching and active EDR.
  • MFA coverage for remote access and privileged accounts.
  • Backup restorations verified within the last 90 days.

How we approach it at Seintec: Cybersecurity

We shield your company so it never stops. We operate from our own datacenter in Spain, with a certified technical team and a single point of contact who knows your infrastructure, so you do not have to explain your environment every time an incident arises.

These are the capabilities we bring to the table in a cybersecurity project:

  • EDR / XDR: Advanced detection and response across endpoints and network.
  • UTM perimeter security: Managed firewall and segmentation.
  • Email filtering: Phishing, spam, and spoofing blocking.
  • WAF: Protection of published applications and services.
  • Immutable backup: Backups that ransomware cannot alter.
  • MFA and identity: Conditional access based on user and device.

What you gain by working with a technology partner

Outsourcing does not mean losing control: it means gaining predictability, coverage, and independent technical insight. These are the benefits our clients highlight:

  • Total prevent–detect–respond coverage: Immutable backup, email filtering, WAF, EDR/XDR, and UTM perimeter security in a single managed contract.
  • Ensured continuity: Regain full control of your infrastructure in the event of a cyber incident in less than 4 hours.
  • Zero Trust by design: Identity-based access control and MFA for any user and device.
  • AI-powered defence: Machine learning engines that monitor endpoints and networks in real time and reduce the mean time to detection.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my company is truly protected?
With evidence: EDR coverage, two-factor authentication on all remote access, immutable copies, and a recently tested restoration. If any of these four points are not confirmed, there is a real risk of prolonged downtime.
Where should a company wanting to address cybersecurity begin?
With an audit of the current environment. At Seintec, we perform an initial no-cost review that identifies risks, dependencies, and priorities, resulting in a phased plan with fixed deadlines and budgets.
Is it necessary to halt business operations during the project?
No. We plan migrations and changes within agreed windows, with prior pilot tests and rollback options, ensuring disruption is minimal or non-existent for users.
What type of companies do you serve?
SMEs and mid-market companies in sectors such as industry, automotive, logistics, retail, legal, and healthcare, with both on-premises and hybrid cloud infrastructure.
What coverage and response times (SLA) do you offer?
Support from Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 18:00, and 24x7 emergencies 365 days a year, with a committed response SLA and a 99.98% service SLA in 2025.

Seintec can help you organise the use of artificial intelligence in your company, define approved tools, and protect the information moving between users, applications, and cloud services. Contact us to design a secure and practical approach.

Contact Seintec

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Cybersecurity

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Next step

Would you like to implement these improvements in your company?

Speak with a Seintec expert and we will review how this applies to your infrastructure together.