- Artificial intelligence (AI) tools automate a variety of business operations such as writing, image and art generation, audio and video production, and data analysis.
- Top AI-related security risks include data and privacy breaches, model poisoning and attacks, plagiarism, and piracy.
- Using security tools and following best practices can reduce AI cybersecurity risks.
- This article is for business owners and IT managers who want to use free AI tools to safely streamline their business.
Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies like ChatGPT can help you with content creation, data analysis, and more, making your business more efficient and productive. However, AI tools can also pose security risks that have significant business implications, such as data breaches, privacy issues, and piracy.
We will highlight popular free AI business tools, share potential security concerns, and discuss how to protect your business when using AI technology.
Many AI tools are free for small businesses. It performs a variety of functions, from generating text and images to creating music and audio. Here are some popular tools in use today.
- Chat GPT: ChatGPT is a language processing tool that helps automate content creation. Many companies use his ChatGPT to generate ideas quickly, provide answers to complex prompts, and save time and money. ChatGPT can also be “taught” to perform advanced tasks such as programming and data analysis. (For more information on ChatGPT, visit the OpenAI website.)
- Eye: Copy.ai is an AI tool that helps automate various content creation tasks. Improve your business blog content, help with social media posts, create marketing copy, summarize text, and more. (Go to Copy.ai for more information.)
- Imagen: Imagen is Google’s free AI tool that enables companies to rapidly generate high-quality visuals such as corporate logos and images. You can also use Imagen for creating and editing videos. (For more information, visit Imagen.)
- Supertone: Supertone is a South Korea-based intelligent audio platform that helps companies create audio content such as narration, narration, and sound effects. It also has a text-to-speech feature and can synthesize human-like speech. (Visit Supertone.ai for more information.)
- jitter: Jitter is a deep learning AI platform that enables companies to rapidly generate videos and animations. It can be used to easily create explainer videos, promo clips and animations. (See the Jitter website for more information.)
AI is transforming business with tools that can create and optimize content in many formats. These tools save companies time, effort and money.
Despite their many benefits, AI tools come with inherent cybersecurity risks that can potentially severely impact your business, including:
1. AI tools pose data breach and privacy risks.
AI tools collect, store, and process large amounts of data. Without proper cybersecurity measures such as antivirus software and secure file sharing, vulnerable systems can be exposed to malicious attackers who can access sensitive data and cause significant damage. Data breaches and data privacy breaches can occur.
2. AI tools may be vulnerable to model poisoning and other attacks.
Model poisoning occurs when malicious data or code infiltrates an AI system. This type of attack can corrupt your system and produce false or malicious results.
Some AI tools, such as ChatGPT and similar chatbots, are more vulnerable to model poisoning, attacks, and data breaches due to their open-source nature.
As organizations aggressively use AI tools to cut business costs, many fear AI will displace their jobs.
3. AI tools can expose your business to plagiarism.
Plagiarism is one of the most prominent risks associated with text-based AI tools. AI technology can generate content quickly, but it cannot create 100% unique text.
When companies use AI-generated content as their own without manually editing it, they run the risk of creating duplicate content that can be flagged as plagiarism.
4. AI tools can expose your business to piracy.
AI image, audio, and video generators can expose users to copyright infringement. AI tools take data from Internet content and generate visuals, audio clips, and videos. AI tools may misuse copyrighted material without the permission of the content creator, with potential legal consequences.
To avoid copyright infringement in your business, always ask for permission when using images in marketing materials and social media, and when finding royalty-free content and linking to content you use on social media.
How can businesses mitigate AI security risks?
Software applications, security tools, and security best practices can help companies mitigate the risks of using AI tools in their business.
Software and security tools to protect against AI security risks
Consider the following software and security tools to help prevent AI-related security risks.
- TrojAI software framework: TrojAI is a Python module developed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory that helps detect AI model poisoning and other malware patterns. That repository is on GitHub. Businesses can use it to detect malicious data and remove it from their systems. (For more information, visit TrojAI.)
- OpenAI Text Classifier: Developed by the team behind ChatGPT, OpenAI is a secure text classification tool that can detect whether content is AI-generated or human-generated. Despite its limitations, it is considered more reliable and secure than other plagiarism checkers and text classifiers. (For more information, see the OpenAI AI Classifier page.)
- IBM Cloud Identity and Access Management: This management platform provides businesses with secure authentication services, multi-factor authentication and encryption. It also helps protect against unauthorized access, data loss, and malicious code injection. (For more information, see IBM’s Cloud IAM Solutions page.)
Best practices for mitigating AI security risks
Tools and software can help protect small businesses from AI risks, but you also need security best practices to keep your business safe.
Consider the following security tips and best practices.
- Protect confidential information. Be careful about the information you enter into AI software. It can be vulnerable to data breaches.
- Cross-check AI-generated content. Utilize a manual entry process to cross-check generated content to detect plagiarism and piracy. For example, use a plagiarism checker to determine if AI-generated content was taken directly from another source.
- Educate your team on proper use of AI. Include effective employee training on AI. Educate employees on potential risks of AI tools, best practices for using them, and how to identify and report suspicious activity.
- Consider paid AI tools. Consider investing in paid AI tools that offer better security and reliability than free ones.
- Get the latest information on AI risk. Stay on top of the latest security trends and best practices to keep your business protected.
- Your data is always safe. Implement strict data handling and storage policies and use secure authentication systems to protect data from malicious attackers.
Generative AI is one of the small business technology trends expected to impact operations and disrupt the industry in the next few years.
Stay ahead of the risks inherent in AI
There is no denying that AI will drive the future, and free AI tools are beneficial in terms of convenience and cost efficiency. However, AI tools come with inherent risks, especially since AI and machine learning are still in the early stages of development.
By educating employees, investing in the right security measures, and implementing the right tools and policies, businesses can protect themselves from potential security threats associated with the use of AI technology.
