August 25, 2025
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way businesses operate, with revolutionary tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot becoming essential in daily workflows. Companies are leveraging these AI solutions to generate content, enhance customer service, draft emails, summarize meetings, and even streamline coding and spreadsheet tasks.
While AI dramatically boosts productivity and saves time, it's crucial to understand that improper use can lead to severe cybersecurity risks affecting your company's sensitive data.
Even small enterprises face these threats.
The Core Challenge
The challenge lies not in AI technology itself, but in how it's utilized. When employees input confidential information into public AI platforms, that data might be stored, analyzed, or even used to refine future AI models. As a result, proprietary or regulated information could unknowingly be compromised.
In 2023, Samsung engineers accidentally uploaded internal source code to ChatGPT, prompting a serious privacy incident that led the company to ban public AI tool usage, as detailed by Tom's Hardware.
Imagine this scenario unfolding in your business—an employee pastes client financial or medical details into ChatGPT for assistance, unaware of the risks. Within moments, your organization's confidential data becomes vulnerable.
Emerging Danger: Prompt Injection Attacks
In addition to unintended disclosures, cybercriminals are now exploiting advanced techniques known as prompt injection. They embed malicious commands in emails, transcripts, PDFs, or even YouTube captions. When AI systems process this content, they may be manipulated into revealing sensitive information or performing unauthorized tasks.
In essence, AI unknowingly aids attackers by following deceptive instructions.
Why Small Businesses Are Especially at Risk
Many small businesses lack internal oversight of AI applications. Employees often adopt AI tools individually without official policies or safety training, assuming these platforms function like enhanced search engines. They may not realize that their shared data can be permanently stored or accessed by third parties.
Furthermore, most organizations don't have AI usage guidelines or employee education programs to safeguard data sharing.
Practical Steps to Secure Your AI Usage Today
Rather than banning AI, focus on managing its use securely.
Start with these four essential actions:
1. Establish a clear AI usage policy.
Specify approved AI tools, outline prohibited data types, and designate a point of contact for questions.
2. Train your team.
Educate employees about the risks of public AI tools and the nature of threats like prompt injection.
3. Adopt secure AI platforms.
Promote the use of enterprise-grade AI solutions such as Microsoft Copilot that offer enhanced data privacy and regulatory compliance.
4. Monitor AI activity.
Keep track of AI tools being used and, if necessary, restrict access to public AI platforms on company devices.
Your Key Takeaway
AI technology is here to stay, offering immense benefits for businesses prepared to harness it safely. Ignoring the associated risks means exposing your company to hackers, regulatory penalties, or worse. A single careless action can jeopardize your organization's data integrity.
Let's discuss how to secure your AI practices and protect your business without hindering productivity. Contact us at 801-997-8000 or click here to schedule your 10-Minute Discovery Call today.
