The Hidden Risk of “Digital Ghosts” and Zombies and How ISEC7 SPHERE Can Help

Federal agencies are facing a growing cybersecurity blind spot: forgotten, unmanaged, or unaccounted-for devices – so-called “digital ghosts” – that remain active on networks long after their intended use. This risk is being amplified by a wave of layoffs, hiring freezes, and budget cuts across the public sector, which have created new vulnerabilities in endpoint management and insider threat detection.

As agencies restructure and reduce headcount, many devices assigned to former employees, contractors, or temporary personnel are left behind, still connected, still active, and often still holding sensitive data or credentials. These endpoints may not be properly deprovisioned due to overwhelmed IT teams, fragmented asset tracking systems, or simply human oversight. The result is a growing population of digital ghosts that quietly expand the attack surface and undermine compliance efforts. Combined with cybersecurity staffing shortages and reduced visibility into endpoint activity, this creates a perfect storm for exploitation. Agencies often don’t know what they don’t know, and that lack of visibility is exactly what adversaries will exploit.

A Preventable Cybersecurity Blind Spot

Many agencies struggle with aging and fragmented device inventories. With multiple Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) solutions in play, overlapping user identities, and inconsistent asset deprovisioning processes, it becomes easy for devices to linger in the background, still active and connected, but no longer monitored. These devices may belong to former employees, contractors, or users whose roles have changed, and yet the endpoint is still alive on the network.

The risks of such digital ghosts are both technical and operational. Unpatched vulnerabilities present on unmanaged devices expose agencies to malware and exploitation, while residual access, such as cached credentials or lingering VPN profiles, can allow unauthorized connections. Without clearly defined ownership, it is difficult to assign accountability when suspicious activity occurs. Also, compliance frameworks often require an up-to-date inventory of all endpoints, and digital ghosts undermine this requirement and may result in failed audits or non-compliance findings.

In many cases, these digital ghosts evolve into what are known as zombie devices, i.e. endpoints that are no longer maintained, monitored, or updated, yet remain connected to the network. Such devices typically run outdated software or firmware that no longer receives security patches – either because the manufacturer has ended support or because it has been neglected by IT operations – and they significantly increase an organization’s surface of attack, acting as easy entry points for attackers to exploit known vulnerabilities. Once compromised, a zombie device can be weaponized to distribute malware, participate in botnet-driven Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, or facilitate lateral movement across a network. Examples include unpatched smart devices, end-of-life software installations, or Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that are no longer maintained. When such devices go undetected, they can silently undermine the overall cybersecurity posture of an organization.

A striking example of the risks posed by disgruntled ex-employees occurred in 2016 when a former Marriott Hotel staff member, despite being explicitly told not to, accessed the company’s internal reservation system from home after termination. They drastically reduced room rates from $159–$499 to as low as $12–$59, causing Marriott an estimated $50,000 in losses. This case highlights a broader issue: many organizations fail to promptly disable access for former employees, with studies showing that 28% of ex-employee accounts remain active for over a month and create an extended window for potential misuse.

Agencies often don’t know what they don’t know, and that lack of visibility is exactly what adversaries will exploit.

How ISEC7 SPHERE Enables Trusted Asset Visibility

ISEC7 SPHERE solves this problem by becoming a command and control layer across UEM, directory services, and security tools, collecting and correlating real-time data to build an accurate, dynamic inventory of users and devices, across the full spectrum of platforms, ownership models, and operational states.

Automated Device Discovery

ISEC7 SPHERE integrates with Microsoft Intune, BlackBerry UEM, Omnissa Workspace ONE, Ivanti and many more industry-leading UEM solutions to extract real-time device metadata, cross-referencing this with company directories like Microsoft Active Directory (AD) and Azure AD, cybersecurity platforms including Mobile Threat Defense (MTD) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions, as well as Identity Provider (IdP) systems to match devices to actual users.

Orphaned Device Spotting

ISEC7 SPHERE detects potential digital ghosts by analyzing a combination of last activity, management status, user association, and authentication data, for example when a device has not checked in recently, is no longer managed, or lacks a valid user. This correlation enables automated alerts, helping agencies quickly identify and address abandoned or orphaned devices before they become security risks.

Multi-Platform Correlation

Whether an agency uses iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, or a mix of all, ISEC7 SPHERE correlates endpoint data into a single, unified view. Mobile and desktop environments are tracked equally, with full context.

Lifecycle Visibility

From enrollment to decommissioning, ISEC7 SPHERE tracks each device's status, UEM compliance, last seen activity, OS version, and patch level. No more guessing whether an endpoint is still in use.

This is not just about inventory, it is about trust as you cannot protect what you do not know exists.

Asset Management

Beyond cybersecurity, ISEC7 SPHERE brings significant advantages to IT asset management by delivering an accurate, real-time inventory, helping agencies maintain alignment between what’s recorded in the asset management database and what is deployed and used.

ISEC7 SPHERE makes decommissioning more efficient by detecting when a device has gone inactive beyond a defined threshold and triggering follow-up workflows. It also supports end-of-life reporting by identifying outdated operating systems, hardware age, last known activity, and device location. This enables IT teams to plan hardware refreshes, manage procurement, and ensure proper disposal of sensitive equipment.

Crucially, ISEC7 SPHERE integrates with IT Service Management (ITSM) platforms like ServiceNow, enabling ticket automation for device issues, configuration non-compliance, or ownership mismatches. The result is a smoother, more controlled asset lifecycle, from acquisition to disposal, with full documentation available for compliance reporting.

Safer Offboarding Process

Offboarding is one of the most vulnerable stages in device lifecycle management. When users leave an agency, whether as employees, contractors, or temporary personnel, their devices may remain in circulation, still holding enterprise data or credentials, creating a window of risk that can be easily overlooked.

With ISEC7 SPHERE, this risk is mitigated through correlation and automation, by continuously matching UEM data with identity systems and detects when a user has been offboarded, but their device continues to show activity or connectivity. This anomaly can trigger alerts, prompting security teams to investigate or automatically revoke access. ISEC7 SPHERE helps to ensure that no device is left behind, minimizing insider threats and reducing the chances of unauthorized access through dormant hardware.

Proactive Defense Starts with Total Visibility

Digital ghosts are not just an IT nuisance, but silent threats to federal cybersecurity. Unmanaged or forgotten devices offer attackers an easy way in and make it harder for agencies to maintain compliance, enforce policy, or respond to incidents.

ISEC7 SPHERE provides a comprehensive view across all managed and unmanaged endpoints, bridging UEM and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) disciplines. By integrating with existing UEM systems, identity directories, and device logs, ISEC7 SPHERE enables agencies to track the complete lifecycle of every device, corporate or BYOD, mobile or desktop, and correlate it with user behavior and security posture in real time. This proactive approach ensures no device falls through the cracks, closing the door on digital ghosts before they become a liability. The most dangerous devices are the ones no one remembers, but when every endpoint is accounted for, every risk becomes manageable; agencies that prioritize visibility today are the ones best prepared for tomorrow.