As technologies continue to be affected by ransomware attacks, proper data protection is critical to keeping customer information safe. Without it, companies can be left vulnerable to privacy risks, such as data poisoning or adversarial attacks. Therefore, having security policies in place isn’t just nice — it’s essential.
In this blog post, we’ll cover the following:
- AI privacy best practices.
- How Psycray ensures client privacy.
- Concluding Thoughts.
AI Privacy Best Practices
Privacy can be a complex topic, with companies using a wide variety of processes to maintain it. However, in general, these are some best practices you should keep in mind as you implement AI into your workflow. These tried-and-true rules won’t fail you:
- Never send personal information through open generative AI platforms. Generative AI uses new inputs to create future outputs. By putting personal information into open AI platforms, one risks having that information leaked in a new output.
- This data can enable spear-fishing, the act of targeting people for identity theft or fraud purposes, according to Jennifer King, privacy and data policy fellow at the Stanford University Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (Stanford HAI), in an article from Stanford.
- King also noted that bad actors are already using AI voice clothing to act as real people and extort them over phones.
- In addition, she’s seen resumes or photographs being used by AI without consent and with direct civil rights consequences, as well as gender biases in predictive job-screening systems and false arrests of black men in facial recognition technologies that are used to identify and apprehend those who have committed crimes.
- All of these examples showcase how crucial it is to be cautious about which information you send to generative AI.
- Monitor and validate all data that goes into your AI/ML model. If any data is outdated, inaccurate, or otherwise irrelevant, clean it up before it runs. Keeping information up-to-date is a crucial part of data hygiene.
- According to InfluxData, a software company, monitoring ensures data completeness, consistency, and correct representation of real-world scenarios that the model covers. They also recommend a few best practices for monitoring, including defining metrics for the systems that align with business goals, leveraging real-time tracking tools, establishing routine monitoring and feedback loops to measure performance, and collaborating with data science teams.
- Use two-factor authentication and/or authenticator apps for all accounts, internal and external. This is always a good idea in case anyone happens to get a hold of your password. According to LoginRadius, an Identity-as-a-Service platform, AI technologies can take authentication to the next level in several ways. For starters, they can use behavioral biometrics to analyze activity such as mouse movements, scrolling trends, and keystroke methods. This helps them distinguish fraudulent activity from authentic activity. They can also use contextual authentication through tracking information such as device type, IP address, and geolocation. If any of these domains differ from the ones normally used to login to an account, the AI system can automatically provide additional security measures, such as one-time passcodes or “biometric authentication.”
- Lastly, they can use continuous authentication. For instance, if someone logs in to a work account after hours or starts banking transactions that are larger than normal, AI can offer enhanced authentication checks.
- Offer domain protection for clients’ websites. This adds an extra level of security to your site’s privacy and prevents unwanted access. According to Mark Monitor, an online brand-management and domain protection company, account-level security measures include two-factor authentication, unique user accounts with specific permissions, IP-Based access restrictions, single-sign on features, and safe APIs with permission controls and token authetication. Combined, these features create a robust domain.
- Always keep your staff up-to-date on security practices and your company’s AI/ML model. If everyone knows the basics of how it’s supposed to work, they can more easily detect when something goes awry.
Additional Tips Suggested by IBM
- Follow privacy laws. According to IBM, multiple privacy protection regulations exist, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Act, California Consumer Privacy Act, the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, and Utah’s Artificial Intelligence and Privacy Act. At the federal level, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights”, in which privacy is one of five AI usage principles. The guidelines encourage AI professionals to seek user consent for all data collection.
- IBM also suggests establishing timelines for data retention, with the goal of eliminating data as early as possible. This will help ensure that personal data is only kept as long as needed, which prevents unnecessary data from being kept and potentially misused or leaked.
- Companies should also seek explicit consent from users for “consent, access, and control” of data, according to IBM. In addition, they should re-send a consent request if the prompted data collection changes.
- Also, data that is extra sensitive — such as information pertaining to healthcare, employment, education, criminal justice, and personal finance — should be given extra protection, IBM stated. These kinds of data deserve top priority.
How Psycray Ensures Client Privacy
Psycray always takes care to keep customer information private. For example, we helped SquareStack develop a single sign-on feature and TireRack scan domains for enhanced protection.
These security features gave our clients the extra protection they deserve to keep their websites secure.
Concluding Thoughts
In conclusion, monitoring, validating, and refining your AI/ML systems is critical for maintaining data privacy. In addition, following security best practices, such as safeguarding sensitive information from OpenAI, cleaning data, and using two-factor authentication for all accounts can keep your business protected.
By following these guidelines, you can create an atmosphere of safety and trust for all stakeholders involved.