The Hidden Risks of Deploying AI Assistants: Protecting Sensitive Data with Microsoft Copilot

As organizations increasingly adopt AI-driven tools like Microsoft Copilot to enhance productivity, it's crucial to remain vigilant about the potential risks associated with handling sensitive data. While these tools offer immense benefits in automating tasks and providing intelligent assistance, they can inadvertently expose confidential information if not properly managed. Here are ten (10) prompts to illustrate how sensitive data could be at risk when using Copilot and why it's essential to deploy robust data protection measures.

1. Financial Data Exposure

Prompt: "Can you provide a summary of the latest financial results from our internal report?"

This request could lead to the accidental sharing of confidential financial data, which could be detrimental if accessed by unauthorized parties. Competitors or malicious actors gaining access to this information could leverage it to the organization’s disadvantage. Keep in mind, even if you have strict access controls internally, when you share with your auditors or other 3rd parties; they can become your weakest link.

2. Product Launch Strategy Leaks

Prompt: "What are the key details of our upcoming product launch strategy?"

Proprietary information about new products is highly sensitive. If such details are leaked, competitors could gain a significant advantage, undermining the organization’s market position and potentially leading to financial losses. This has already happened within the Semi and EV auto industries with devastating consequences.

3. Client Confidentiality Breach

Prompt: "Show me the list of our top clients and their contact details."

Client information is a critical asset that must be protected. Exposing this data could result in breaches of privacy agreements, reputational damage, and potential legal ramifications.

4. Incident Response Vulnerabilities

Prompt: "How should I handle a data breach involving our customer database?"

Discussing incident response strategies with an AI could expose vulnerabilities and planned responses, making the organization more susceptible to further attacks. It's vital to ensure such discussions are secure and restricted.

5. Unauthorized Access to Credentials

Prompt: "What are the access credentials for our cloud services?"

Sharing or requesting access credentials through Copilot could lead to unauthorized access to critical systems, potentially resulting in a large-scale data breach with severe consequences.

6. Legal Case Information Exposure

Prompt: "What are the details of the ongoing legal case we are involved in?"

Legal case information is highly sensitive and should remain confidential. Exposing such details could compromise legal strategies and violate attorney-client privilege, leading to unfavorable outcomes in legal proceedings.

7. Employee Privacy Invasion

Prompt: "Can you generate a report on our employees' salary and benefits packages?"

Employee salary and benefits information must be protected to comply with privacy laws and internal policies. Unauthorized access to this data could result in privacy violations and damage employee trust.

8. Network Infrastructure Details

Prompt: "Give me the architectural details of our network infrastructure."

Providing network infrastructure details could help attackers understand the organization’s network layout, making it easier for them to plan and execute targeted cyberattacks.

9. Cybersecurity Audit Findings

Prompt: "Summarize the findings from our latest internal audit on cybersecurity."

Revealing weaknesses and vulnerabilities identified during an internal audit could provide attackers with a roadmap, increasing the risk of cyber incidents.

10. Business Agreement Terms

Prompt: "What are the terms and conditions of our partnership agreement with XYZ Corporation?"

Business agreements often contain sensitive information that must be kept confidential. Sharing these details could breach confidentiality clauses and damage business relationships.

How can you prevent Copilot from prompt hacking??

Before you enable Copilot, you need to properly secure and lock down your data.

While this article has focused on sensitive data solely located in your organization, keep in mind that you ALSO must consider how you protect your sensitive data when it sits in the hands of your 3rd party suppliers, vendors, etc. Ensuring your blast radius doesn’t grow means when sensitive data is shared intentionally (or unintentionally), the data must be protected persistently.

This topic has been top of mind after speaking to so many CISOs who are recognizing the very real risks associated with this powerful technology. Seclore is one of those critical technologies that must be deployed before deploying your Copilot instance. I'm not sure it can be overstated. We stand on the precipice of a new era in technology - an era ushered in by generative AI and large language models (LLMs) like Copilot/ChatGPT. But with this remarkable advance comes a growing concern:

Conclusion

While Microsoft Copilot and similar AI tools offer valuable assistance, organizations must implement robust data protection measures to safeguard sensitive information. This is where solutions like Seclore become indispensable. Seclore enables persistent data protection, ensuring that sensitive information remains secure no matter where it travels or who accesses it. By applying dynamic data-centric security policies, Seclore ensures that only authorized users can access, modify, or share critical data.

Establishing strict access controls, educating employees about data security, and continuously monitoring AI interactions are essential steps to mitigate these risks. By integrating Seclore’s advanced protection capabilities, organizations can harness the benefits of AI while maintaining rigorous security standards. This proactive approach ensures that sensitive data remains protected persistently, empowering companies to leverage AI innovations like Copilot with confidence.