Is Your Company’s Data Safe with AI? Critical Vulnerabilities You Need to Know

In our latest Tech Your Business podcast episode, I talk about something that’s been keeping me up at night recently – the security of your business data when using AI chatbots.

It seems like everyone’s at it these days, doesn’t it? Generating text, creating images, summarising documents, writing code… these AI tools have become absolutely indispensable. The productivity gains are frankly staggering – we’re seeing small teams accomplish what used to require entire departments.

But here’s the rub: every time you hit “send” on that chat interface, where exactly is your data going?

The Samsung Wake-Up Call

Remember that incident with Samsung last year? Engineers at one of the world’s largest tech companies popped some of their proprietary source code into a popular AI chat system to check it. Next thing you know, that confidential code was… well, not so confidential anymore.

It was a proper disaster – suddenly their internal code was accessible to competitors and potentially exposed security vulnerabilities in their products.

And Samsung isn’t alone. The Dutch healthcare scandal around patient data being fed into AI systems caused an absolute uproar with data protection authorities.

What Happens When You Hit “Send”?

Here’s what most business owners don’t realise: AI chat systems need data to function. Loads of it. They’ve been trained on books, articles, websites – terabytes upon terabytes of information.

When you feed your sensitive business data into these systems, unless you’ve explicitly opted out (and sometimes even if you have), that information can become part of what the AI knows. Which means:

1. Your competitor could access your proprietary information for the price of a £20 monthly subscription
2. Customer data might be exposed without their consent
3. Business secrets could become public knowledge virtually overnight

And that’s just the beginning.

Three Critical Vulnerabilities You Can’t Ignore

In the podcast, I break down three essential points every business owner needs to understand:

1. Data Exposure Risks

The fundamental issue is that many public AI systems retain what you feed them, potentially exposing your proprietary information. That brilliant process you developed? That unique market analysis? That customer database? All potentially up for grabs.

2. Hidden Vulnerabilities

Beyond simple data exposure, there are deeper security concerns:

• Provider security breaches – What if the AI company itself gets hacked?
• Prompt injection attacks – Sophisticated users can “jailbreak” AI systems to reveal information they shouldn’t
• Accidental cross-contamination – Remember when some users could suddenly see other people’s chat histories?

3. Practical Protection Strategies

The good news is that you don’t have to abandon these powerful tools. I outline a practical framework for using AI safely:

• Read those privacy policies (yes, really!)
• Categorise your data into public, internal, confidential, and restricted
• Develop clear AI usage policies for your team
• Consider private AI implementations for sensitive operations

A Real Concern for Real Businesses

This isn’t theoretical scaremongering. Major corporations like Cisco are implementing extensive training programmes for their staff on responsible AI use. Others have banned certain AI tools outright.

As I mention in the podcast, AI isn’t going anywhere. The productivity benefits are simply too enormous to ignore. But incorporating it thoughtfully and safely into your business processes? That’s non-negotiable.

Listen to the Full Episode

This blog post only scratches the surface of what we cover in the full podcast episode. Give it a listen here:

Listen to “Is Your Company’s Data Safe with AI?” on the Tech Your Business Podcast

This is the first in our three-part series on AI data security. Next up: “AI & GDPR: What Your Legal Team Needs to Know.“

Target ICT helps businesses implement secure, effective AI solutions that drive growth while protecting sensitive data. Learn more about our AI implementation services.