DeepSeek AI: A Breakthrough or a Major Cybersecurity Risk?
Bruce Bird
Technology senior leader, risk and compliance advisor, innovator, analysis-driven decision maker, fraud prevention leader, management consultant
FIR Risk Tuesday E41 is a day late but shares the most recent developments and latest research on DeepSeek. Human + AI now provides sources used below! My greatest concern is how quickly news can impact our world and financial markets coming from the PRC who are masters of manipulation, disinformation, and using the techniques of deception to fight the ongoing war for control over the international order.
?? China’s AI startup DeepSeek has made waves in recent weeks—launching a powerful AI model, topping app store charts, and sparking concerns over security, privacy, and IP theft. Here’s what you need to know.
?? Key Developments
?? DeepSeek-R1 Launch (Jan 2025) – A 671B-parameter open-source AI model, built at a fraction of competitors’ costs, shaking up the AI market.
?? Market Disruption – DeepSeek’s app surpassed ChatGPT in the U.S. iOS App Store, leading to over $1T in market cap losses across AI companies.
?? OpenAI Investigates IP Theft – Microsoft & OpenAI are probing claims that DeepSeek misused OpenAI’s models, possibly via data scraping & distillation techniques.
?? Source: Reuters
?? Cybersecurity & Privacy Concerns
?? User Data Privacy – DeepSeek stores data in China, raising concerns over foreign surveillance and data exploitation risks.
?? Security Vulnerabilities – NowSecure’s audit found that the DeepSeek iOS app lacks encryption, exposing user data to potential hacks & interception.
?? Source: NowSecure
?? Government & Enterprise Bans – New York State & major universities have blocked DeepSeek due to serious privacy risks.
?? Expert Assessments: What’s Inside DeepSeek AI?
??? AppSOC’s DeepSeek-R1 Security Review
? Strengths – Powerful reasoning abilities, efficient computation, strong performance across benchmarks.
? Risks –
? Lack of robust security safeguards in model training.
领英推荐
? Vulnerable to adversarial attacks & data extraction exploits.
? Potential for backdoor manipulations that could compromise sensitive queries.
?? Verdict: “Highly capable, but security posture needs significant improvement before enterprise use.”
?? Source: AppSOC
? Recommendations for AI Users
?? Review Privacy Policies – Know where your data is stored and who has access.
?? Be Cautious with Sensitive Information – Avoid sharing personal or business-critical data with AI apps that lack transparency.
?? Monitor AI Security Research – Follow expert assessments like AppSOC & NowSecure for trusted AI security insights.
?? Consider Alternative AI Solutions – Evaluate AI models from trusted providers with transparent security practices.
?? What’s Your Take?
Is DeepSeek AI a game-changer, or does its security risk outweigh its benefits? Drop your thoughts below! ?
?? Follow for more Fraud, AI & cybersecurity insights.
?? #CyberSecurity #AI #DataPrivacy #DeepSeek #Infosec #FraudPrevention
Stay tuned for more to come on Cyber Fraud in future FIR Risk Newsletters!
Download your copy of our Fraud Intelligence Report (FIR): https://firriskadvisory.com/fir-risk-quarterly-reports/ for FREE!
You can also find this edition and all prior FIR Risk Tuesday Newsletters on our Blog: https://firriskadvisory.com/blog/
Visit our website to learn more about our services and how to engage with us: https://firriskadvisory.com/