COMMENTARY: Remember when Wi-Fi first showed up in offices? It was magical. Suddenly, we could check our emails from the break room, browse the web from a beanbag and connect any number of personal devices to the network. No longer were we constrained to a desk and a desktop, we were free.
But back then, IT departments hadn’t quite caught up. Some employees — impatient for wireless freedom — brought in their own Wi-Fi routers. They’d plug them right into the corporate network, and suddenly wireless networks called “Mike’s Wi-Fi” or “Pretty Fly for a Wi-Fi” were magically providing network access everywhere.[SC Media Perspectives columns are written by a trusted community of SC Media cybersecurity subject matter experts. Read more Perspectives here.]
It was all fun and games: until someone realized the access point was wide open to anyone parked outside in the company parking lot. Attempts to secure it using wired equivalent privacy (WEP) encryption and a password written on a whiteboard failed predictably as attackers learned to crack the protocol or just read the password through the window.Oops.
Today, once again employees are enticed by the magic, as agentic AI offers to transform the way we work by improving productivity and automating tedious tasks. Again IT teams are on their heels as employees race to implement unapproved AI tools, chatbots, or automation agents without the blessing or knowledge of IT or security teams.
They connect them to company email, customer data, or internal docs — not out of malice, but simply to “make life easier.”
It’s eerily similar to those early days of rogue Wi-Fi:In the early days of Wi-Fi and now with AI, a personal router/AI agent that gets deployed for convenience exposes data; static/shared credentials used for Wi-Fi/AI are compromised and provide attackers with network access; IT/security teams have no visibility or control; and most users see it as helpful and not a security risk. Both rogue Wi-Fi and shadow AI agent usage started with good intentions. People aren’t trying to increase the company’s attack surface — they just want to work smarter. IT doesn't want to stop people from being productive: they want to ensure that the right security controls and governance are in place. But this “innovation gap” between early adoption and formal governance creates risk in multiple forms:We’ve been here before. Shadow AI agents are just the next chapter of “technology that’s too convenient for its own good.” Let’s not wait for the AI equivalent of someone war-driving our network before we take it seriously.
If history is a guide, leadership will anticipate—not chase—these shifts. For agentic AI and beyond, the winning organizations will embrace innovation early and align it quickly with security, compliance, and corporate strategy.James Maude, Field CTO, BeyondTrustSC Media Perspectives columns are written by a trusted community of SC Media cybersecurity subject matter experts. Each contribution has a goal of bringing a unique voice to important cybersecurity topics. Content strives to be of the highest quality, objective and non-commercial.
But back then, IT departments hadn’t quite caught up. Some employees — impatient for wireless freedom — brought in their own Wi-Fi routers. They’d plug them right into the corporate network, and suddenly wireless networks called “Mike’s Wi-Fi” or “Pretty Fly for a Wi-Fi” were magically providing network access everywhere.[SC Media Perspectives columns are written by a trusted community of SC Media cybersecurity subject matter experts. Read more Perspectives here.]
It was all fun and games: until someone realized the access point was wide open to anyone parked outside in the company parking lot. Attempts to secure it using wired equivalent privacy (WEP) encryption and a password written on a whiteboard failed predictably as attackers learned to crack the protocol or just read the password through the window.Oops.
Today, once again employees are enticed by the magic, as agentic AI offers to transform the way we work by improving productivity and automating tedious tasks. Again IT teams are on their heels as employees race to implement unapproved AI tools, chatbots, or automation agents without the blessing or knowledge of IT or security teams.
They connect them to company email, customer data, or internal docs — not out of malice, but simply to “make life easier.”
It’s eerily similar to those early days of rogue Wi-Fi:In the early days of Wi-Fi and now with AI, a personal router/AI agent that gets deployed for convenience exposes data; static/shared credentials used for Wi-Fi/AI are compromised and provide attackers with network access; IT/security teams have no visibility or control; and most users see it as helpful and not a security risk. Both rogue Wi-Fi and shadow AI agent usage started with good intentions. People aren’t trying to increase the company’s attack surface — they just want to work smarter. IT doesn't want to stop people from being productive: they want to ensure that the right security controls and governance are in place. But this “innovation gap” between early adoption and formal governance creates risk in multiple forms:
- Data exposure: Sensitive information flows through unvetted tools.
- Security vulnerabilities: New integrations bypass traditional IT review.
- Compliance gaps: Regulatory requirements aren’t met in early usage.
- Process fragmentation: Different teams choose different tools, creating silos.
If history is a guide, leadership will anticipate—not chase—these shifts. For agentic AI and beyond, the winning organizations will embrace innovation early and align it quickly with security, compliance, and corporate strategy.James Maude, Field CTO, BeyondTrustSC Media Perspectives columns are written by a trusted community of SC Media cybersecurity subject matter experts. Each contribution has a goal of bringing a unique voice to important cybersecurity topics. Content strives to be of the highest quality, objective and non-commercial.
