Businesses warned of security risks with rogue chatbots

New guidelines by Cyber Security Agency advise firms to test AI systems frequently

- Osmond Chia

Rogue chatbots that spew lies or racial slurs may be just the beginning, as maliciously coded free chatbot models blindly used by businesses could unintentionally expose sensitive data or result in a security breach.

In new guidelines published on Oct 15, Singapore's Cyber Security Agency (CSA) pointed out these dangers amid the artificial intelligence (AI) gold rush, and urged businesses to test rigorously and regularly what they plan to install.

This is especially crucial for firms that deploy chatbots used by the public, or those linked to confidential customer data. Frequent system tests can help weed out threats like prompt injection attacks, where text is crafted to manipulate a chatbot into revealing sensitive information from linked systems, according to the newly published Guidelines on Securing AI Systems.

The guidelines aim to help businesses identify and mitigate the risks of AI to deploy them securely. The more AI systems are linked to business operations, the more they should be secured.