A Man, a Plan, a Canal – Panama Papers and Shadow IT

The Panama Papers should be a wake-up call to every CEO, COO, CTO and CIO in every company.

Yes, it’s good that alleged malfeasance by governments and big institutions came to light. However, it’s also clear that many companies simply take for granted that their confidential information will remain confidential. This includes data that’s shared within the company, as well as information that’s shared with trusted external partners, such as law firms, financial advisors and consultants. We’re talking everything from instant messages to emails, from documents to databases, from passwords to billing records.

Clients of Mossack Fonseca, the hacked Panamanian law firm, erroneously thought its documents were well protected. How well protected are your documents and IP held by your company’s law firms and other partners? It’s a good question, and shadow IT makes the problem worse. Much worse.

Read why in my column in NetworkWorld: Fight corporate data loss with secure, easy-to-use collaboration tools.