“Shadow AI” Security Breaches Will Hit 40% of Companies by 2030, Warns Gartner – November 2025

Author/Source: Kyle Smith See the full link here

Takeaway

This article talks about a hidden risk called “Shadow AI” that many companies are not prepared for. It explains how employees using AI tools without official approval can create big security problems and how businesses need to control this to stay safe.

Technical Subject Understandability

Intermediate

Analogy/Comparison

Using Shadow AI at work is like bringing your own personal tools to a construction site without letting the supervisor know. Even if the tools are helpful, they might not be safe or compatible with the site’s rules, potentially causing problems for everyone.

Why It Matters

It matters because companies could face serious security problems and lose important information if they don’t manage how their employees use AI tools. For example, if an employee uses an unapproved AI tool to help with a task, that tool might send company secrets to an outside server, making the company vulnerable to data breaches and regulatory fines, costing them a lot of money and trust. The article warns that 40% of companies will be hit by these breaches by 2030.

Related Terms

Shadow AI, AI governance, AI security and risk management (AISRM), Large Language Models (LLMs), Generative AI. Jargon Conversion: Shadow AI is when employees use artificial intelligence tools that haven’t been approved or checked by their company. AI governance is a set of rules and controls that companies put in place to manage how AI tools are used safely and properly. AI security and risk management (AISRM) is the process of finding and fixing security risks that come from using artificial intelligence. Large Language Models (LLMs) are advanced computer programs that can understand and create human-like text, often used in AI tools. Generative AI refers to AI tools that can create new content like text, images, or code.

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