I recently attended the Gartner Application Innovation & Business Solutions Summit, where the dominant theme was AI. One standout session was “Managing AI Trust, Risk, and Security,” presented by Aviva Litan. This session highlighted critical aspects of deploying AI responsibly, particularly in the context of Generative AI (GenAI) and large language models like ChatGPT.

Key Insights from the Summit

Litan presented several examples of AI deployment without proper governance, such as the Air Canada incident and scams using deepfakes. These cases underscore the importance of robust AI governance. While many think of AI as a new phenomenon with the rise of GenAI, AI has been around for more than a decade. The advent of GenAI has now brought AI security to the forefront at the board level.

A key takeaway from the conference is that organizations risk more by not investing in AI than by waiting on the sidelines. To manage AI risks, it’s crucial to understand the attack surface across the AI lifecycle, including development and deployment stages like data collection, model training, and prompt services. Each step presents potential vulnerabilities, such as:

  • Training Data Poisoning: Introducing malicious data into the training set to manipulate the model’s behavior.
  • Prompt Injection: Injecting malicious prompts to manipulate the output of generative AI models.
  • Injection into Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG): Compromising the retrieval process to affect generative model outputs.
  • Orchestration Application Code Manipulation: Altering the code that orchestrates AI components, leading to unauthorized actions.
  • Model Manipulation or Poor Performance: Exploiting model weaknesses to degrade performance.
  • Vector Database Attacks: Compromising vector databases that store embeddings used by AI models.

These vulnerabilities can cause significant damage to organizations. Therefore, establishing robust policies and governance is essential. Gartner recommends building model management systems for AI integrity and AI data protection/privacy, securing endpoints, networks, and IAM, and addressing ethics and bias mitigation.

Gartner’s Recommendations for TRiSM

Organizations should develop their own AI Trust, Risk, and Security Management (TRiSM) frameworks, incorporating components to fill gaps in building or owning solutions, such as:

  • Content anomaly detection
  • Data protection
  • Application security

Additionally, organizations should take responsibility for:

  • Explainability
  • Model Management and ModelOps
  • Adversarial resistance

Gartner emphasizes that TRiSM responsibilities should be distributed across the organization, including budget allocation, education, and addressing cultural changes.

How AIS Can Help

At AIS, we specialize in building secure AI applications that align with these best practices. Here’s how we can assist your organization in developing a secure AI platform from the ground up:

Zero-Trust AI Platform

We advocate for a zero-trust approach to AI, ensuring that every component, interaction, and access point is verified and secure. Our platform leverages Azure OpenAI to provide a robust foundation for building AI applications with built-in security features.

Building AI Applications

AIS can help you design and implement AI applications that enhance your business processes. Our solutions include:

  • Secure Data Collection and Management: Ensuring that your training data is clean, unbiased, and protected from malicious influences.
  • Advanced Model Management: Implementing ModelOps to manage the lifecycle of your AI models, ensuring they remain performant and secure.
  • Custom AI Solutions: Developing custom AI copilots that can automate and improve your business processes, tailored specifically to your organizational needs.

Enhancing Business Processes with AI

We work with you to identify key areas where AI can drive efficiency and innovation. Our custom AI solutions can help:

  • Automate Routine Tasks: Freeing up your workforce to focus on higher-value activities.
  • Enhance Decision-Making: Providing insights and recommendations based on data-driven analysis.
  • Improve Customer Experiences: Offering personalized interactions and support through AI-driven tools.

Harness the Power of AI with Reduced Risk

The insights from the Gartner Summit underscore the critical importance of managing AI trust, risk, and security. With AIS, you can confidently navigate the complexities of AI deployment, leveraging our expertise to build secure, efficient, and innovative AI solutions. Let’s work together to harness the power of AI while safeguarding your organization against potential risks.