Key points
- Your staff are probably using AI tools already, even ones you never chose. The challenge is using them without leaking data or letting attackers in. The guide's view is that most of the answer is ordinary security, applied to a new kind of tool.
- The guide says most AI security problems in small firms begin with accounts no one looks after, like a free personal account used for client work. So use business accounts, a phone code plus a password, one named owner, and remove access the day someone leaves.
- Many AI tools can connect to your email, calendar or cloud storage. Connecting lets a tool read all they contain, so link only what a job needs.
- The guide calls what staff paste into AI tools the biggest everyday risk. Anything pasted in goes to the supplier. Whether it is kept, or used for training, depends on product, plan and settings. Check the supplier's terms yourself, and set simple rules, like never pasting passwords.
- Prompt injection means hidden instructions inside something an AI tool reads, like an email, which the tool then obeys. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre says no product can fully remove that risk, so limit what the tool can reach and do.
- An AI agent acts for you, such as sending emails or paying bills, and each extra permission adds risk. Begin with tasks that are easy to undo, and have someone sign off anything touching money, customers or deletions.
- Cyber Essentials, a government-backed scheme, covers five basic security controls, such as firewalls and who has access. None are about AI, yet all of them protect your AI tools. For more, read the full guide on AI Consultancy Finder.
Transcript
Your staff are probably using AI tools already, even ones you never chose. The challenge is using them without leaking data or letting attackers in. The guide's view is that most of the answer is ordinary security, applied to a new kind of tool.
The guide says most AI security problems in small firms begin with accounts no one looks after, like a free personal account used for client work. So use business accounts, a phone code plus a password, one named owner, and remove access the day someone leaves.
Many AI tools can connect to your email, calendar or cloud storage. Connecting lets a tool read all they contain, so link only what a job needs. The guide calls what staff paste into AI tools the biggest everyday risk. Anything pasted in goes to the supplier.
Whether it is kept, or used for training, depends on product, plan and settings. Check the supplier's terms yourself, and set simple rules, like never pasting passwords. Prompt injection means hidden instructions inside something an AI tool reads, like an email, which the tool then obeys.
The UK's National Cyber Security Centre says no product can fully remove that risk, so limit what the tool can reach and do. An AI agent acts for you, such as sending emails or paying bills, and each extra permission adds risk. Begin with tasks that are easy to undo, and have someone sign off anything touching money, customers or deletions.
Cyber Essentials, a government-backed scheme, covers five basic security controls, such as firewalls and who has access. None are about AI, yet all of them protect your AI tools. For more, read the full guide on AI Consultancy Finder.