Enterprises encounter four primary security hurdles when dealing with creative AI (Artificial Intelligence) solutions. They must confirm that the methods AI is being employed adhere to regulatory standards. They must safeguard against accidental exposure of sensitive information and ensure that AI models do not pose a threat to the organization. Furthermore, they must give network and security teams insight into AI platforms to efficiently regulate their usage. Trend Vision One™ – Zero Trust Secure Access (ZTSA) – AI Service Access meets these security requirements by linking access control and AI services to protect enterprises.
Following the initial wave of adopting creative AI (GenAI), enterprises are beginning to ponder more profound questions like, “How can we maximize the utility of our AI models?” “In what ways will these models evolve?” and, critically, “How can we fortify our organization’s utilization of AI?”
In essence, all three inquiries are interconnected. AI models operate by utilizing data—of which the global volume is expected to reach 175 zettabytes next year. According to IDC, 80% of this data will be unstructured, comprising a digital assortment of screenshots, AI stimuli, and exchanges from collaboration apps, much of which cannot be properly recognized or safeguarded using outdated tools.
Instead of letting this “unstructured data” remain unexplored and unusable for the organization, GenAI could assimilate it and leverage its potential. However, without proper understanding of the data’s contents, GenAI might run the risk of exposing confidential information.
Meanwhile, experts at Gartner anticipate that beyond 2027, over half of the GenAI models utilized by enterprises will be tailored to specific industries or specialized for particular business functions—a substantial increase from the one percent in 2023. This trend will open up fresh possibilities for organizations to enhance operations, enhance workforce productivity, and reimagine digital customer interactions. However, a new concern arises: the more GenAI tools interact with confidential or competitively sensitive operational information, the higher the likelihood of inadvertent data exposure.
Expanded risk profile for enterprises
The risks related to AI’s utilization of unstructured and operational data mirror the challenges faced by businesses today. For instance, a company training a GenAI model to optimize gross margins must input various types of corporate data into the model. If this data is not categorized correctly, there is a risk of disclosing sensitive information or its misuse during the content generation process by AI.
Essentially, companies that integrate GenAI systems face four primary security hurdles:
- Observability: Network and security operations center (SOC) teams lack insights into AI platforms, hindering their ability to monitor, regulate usage, and mitigate associated risks, impacting the organization’s overall security posture.
- Conformance: Implementing comprehensive organizational policies can be challenging, making it difficult to track which AI service(s) are being utilized by individuals within the organization.
- Data Exposure: Employees interacting with GenAI services or GenAI itself can inadvertently expose sensitive data through unverified service responses, leading to inappropriate data disclosures to end users.
- Manipulation: Malicious actors might exploit GenAI models by employing crafted inputs to trigger unintended actions or accomplish malicious objectives (e.g., prompt injection attacks). These manipulations might include jailbreaking/model infringement, virtualization/role-playing, and circumventing security measures.
The zero trust methodology offers a robust framework for addressing security concerns while permitting enterprises to fully exploit the evolving capabilities of GenAI. ZTSA – AI Service Access simplifies the application of this methodology by providing a cloud-native platform that secures all user interactions with public or private GenAI services across the organization.
Bridging the gap between GenAI and secure access
Trend Vision One™ ZTSA – AI Service Access empowers zero trust access management for public and private GenAI services. It can oversee AI usage, scrutinize GenAI stimuli and responses—identifying, screening, and evaluating AI content to prevent potential leaks of sensitive data or unsecured outputs in public and private cloud environments.
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