As a CISO advisor, I am observing a familiar pattern gaining a new, critical dimension. What we historically identified as "Shadow IT", the use of unapproved SaaS and tools, is rapidly evolving into "Shadow AI."

Employees are increasingly leveraging AI bots for drafting, analysis, code generation and strategic decision-making. While the intention is often to drive efficiency, the lack of governance creates a dangerous risk surface: sensitive data leakage, compliance violations and the potential for operational decisions based on unverified, AI-generated content.

On World Wide Web Day (August 1), it’s worth celebrating what the web has made possible. It enabled remote work to function at scale, SaaS platforms to deliver capabilities in days instead of months and instantaneous collaboration through shared docs, chats, whiteboards and task tools that update in real time.

When it comes to outbound email security, every organization operates under different operational constraints and security requirements. Some security teams prioritize in-app nudges and coaching to catch risky behavior the moment an email is drafted. Others want to avoid friction, particularly for executives, sales teams or mobile-first employees who rarely interact with desktop add-ins.

When we think about email security, our minds almost always jump to the inbound threats: the sophisticated phishing lures, the AI-generated business email compromise (BEC) attacks, and the malicious attachments knocking at the perimeter.

I saw a venn diagram on social media. One circle is Shadow IT, one circle is Shadow AI, a substantial overlap, and the implicit message is that they are effectively the same challenge.