App Discovery: See Every Application, Including the Ones You Did Not Approve

Protection for the Shadow AI blind spot

Security teams cannot protect applications they do not know exist. As employees adopt new software and generative AI tools faster than IT can review them, unsanctioned usage, commonly called Shadow IT and Shadow AI, has become one of the largest blind spots in the modern enterprise. Every unapproved file-sharing service, personal storage account, or AI assistant creates a potential path for sensitive data to leave the organization without oversight.

Introducing App Discovery for Cloud Secure Edge

App Discovery is the new visibility capability in SonicWall Cloud Secure Edge (CSE), delivered through Secure Internet Access (SIA). It identifies the applications and AI tools users access, so security and IT teams can see actual usage rather than relying on assumptions or user surveys. With this visibility in place, administrators can move from reactive discovery to deliberate governance: reviewing what is in use, deciding what to sanction, and applying policy to what should be restricted.

A catalog of more than 6,000 applications

Visibility is only as useful as the recognition behind it. With this release, the Cloud Secure Edge application catalog expands to more than 6,000. Far more of the software and AI services used across an organization can now be identified by name and categorized, rather than appearing as unexplained traffic.

The broader catalog gives administrators the context needed to make informed decisions about each application.

What App Discovery delivers

• Shadow IT visibility: Identify unsanctioned applications in use across the organization.
• Shadow AI visibility: Surface generative AI tools that employees adopt without review.
• Informed governance: Use application context to decide what to allow, monitor, or block.
• Reduced data exposure: Close the gap where sensitive information moves to services that IT has not vetted.
• Unified management: Gain this insight within the same Cloud Secure Edge platform already used for secure access.

Availability and next steps

App Discovery is part of the October Cloud Secure Edge release, which ships with desktop app version 4.7.0. Organizations that already use Secure Internet Access can begin gaining visibility into application and AI usage as the release rolls out. To learn how App Discovery can bring Shadow IT and Shadow AI into view in your environment, contact your SonicWall representative or partner to arrange a conversation or trial.