Can AI Cause a Data Breach?

One of the basic, undeniable facts about network cybersecurity is that every great new technology brings new problems. When you get something as huge as Artificial intelligence (AI), the danger matrix is vastly heightened.

AI is rapidly transforming industries, offering businesses innovative solutions and automation capabilities. But with this progress comes a growing concern: AI data breaches. As AI becomes more integrated into our systems, the risks increase. The data it collects, analyzes, and utilizes becomes a target.

So far in 2025, 75% of businesses have experienced a breach. This poses a significant threat to organizations. A breach can potentially expose sensitive data and compromise intellectual property and disrupt critical operations.

But there’s no reason to panic just yet. We will show you steps you can take to safeguard your company's valuable information, but first, let's explore why AI data breaches are on the rise.

Why are data breaches increasing?

There are several factors contributing to the growing instances data breaches and those due to weaknesses in AI:

The ‘Attack Surface‘ has Expanded: When a technology like AI provides a wider attack surface, as in the number of potential vulnerable entry points, criminals are more than ready to exploit this weakness. As AI increases, so do the attacks.

Everything is Data Driven: Data is the life’s blood of AI. The massive amount of data collected for training and operation makes a tempting target. This data could include customer information, business secrets, financial records, and even personal details of employees.

Inherent Complexity: Many AI models are complex and opaque, making it difficult to identify vulnerabilities and track data flow. This lack of transparency makes it challenging to detect and prevent security breaches.

The Threat Matrix Continues to Grow and Evolve: Cybercriminals are constantly developing new methods to exploit security gaps. Techniques like adversarial attacks can manipulate AI models. This can produce incorrect outputs or leak sensitive data.

What are the damages for data breach?

The consequences of an AI data breach can be far-reaching:

Financial Liability: Data breaches can lead to hefty fines, lawsuits, and reputational damage. This can impact your bottom line significantly.

Operational Disruption: Once deployed, AI-powered systems become critical to business functions. A breach can disrupt these functionalities, hindering productivity and customer service.

Theft of Intellectual Property: AI models themselves can be considered intellectual property. A breach could expose your proprietary AI models, giving competitors a significant advantage.

Privacy Protection Concerns: As noted above, in ‘Financial Liability,’ AI data breaches can compromise sensitive customer and employee information. This can raise privacy concerns and potentially lead to regulatory action.

How to protect your data from AI?

Take these steps to mitigate the risk of AI data breaches.

Before you do anything, consult with your IT support about the cybersecurity aspects involved. Here are some proactive measures to consider:

Initiate Data Governance

Robust data governance policies and practices include:

Classify and label your data based on sensitivity (if everything is ‘top priority’ then nothing is)

Establish clear access controls (not everybody needs to know everything)

Monitor data usage regularly (if you want a good yield of eggs, keep an eye on the henhouse)

Specific Security Designs for AI

During the process of adopting and developing integrate security considerations which may differ and be stronger than your typical network defenses. Standard procedures for AI projects should be:

Secure coding practices

Vulnerability assessments

Ongoing penetration testing

Make Your AI Model Explainable

Invest in techniques like explainable AI (XAI) that increase transparency in AI models. This allows you to understand how the model arrives at its results and identify potential vulnerabilities or biases. Don’t let AI remain some kind of ‘magical’ mystery. That’s when things can get out of hand.

Perform Ongoing Threat Modeling

You should conduct regular threat modelling exercises on all your network defenses, with special attention to AI. These identify potential weaknesses in your AI systems and data pipelines, which helps you rank vulnerabilities and allocate resources for remediation.

Regular Security Awareness Training

Over 90% of data breaches involve human error, so here at ITFIRM.COM, we harp on keeping your employees aware of threats, how to spot them and what to do about them.  Security Awareness Training educates your employees about AI security threats and best practices for data handling, which empowers them to identify and report suspicious activity.

Stay on Top of Updates and Patch Management

All AI software and hardware components need to be kept up to date with the latest security patches and general updates. Outdated systems are vulnerable to known exploits, which leaves your data at risk. These tasks are easy to set up to occur automatically.

Regular Security Testing

This is not a ‘one and done.’ Security testing of your AI models and data pipelines needs to be regular and ongoing. This work is never finished because it helps identify any vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them.

Stay Informed

Maintain an informed stance in regard to the latest AI security threats and best practices. Take these steps:

Subscribe to reliable cybersecurity publications

Attend industry conferences

Join online workshops on AI and security

Establish Partnerships for Heightened Protection

Take a good look at working with a reputable Managed IT Services outfit that understands AI security. At ITFIRM.COM, we offer expertise in threat detection as well as a vulnerability assessment and penetration testing tailored to AI systems.

It’s also important to explore solutions from software vendors who offer AI-powered anomaly detection tools. These tools can analyze data patterns. They identify unusual activity that might suggest a potential breach.

With its machine-learning capabilities, AI is smarter than the rest of your system. Respect that and keep your AI in tow.