How AI Systems Create New Cybersecurity Risks for Central New York Businesses

Artificial intelligence has transformed how Central New York businesses operate—from customer service chatbots to automated manufacturing systems. But these powerful tools come with hidden vulnerabilities that could impact your operations.

When AI systems make mistakes due to corrupted data or malicious attacks, the consequences can affect your entire business.

As cybersecurity threats evolve, many business owners struggle to understand how AI vulnerabilities might affect their companies. You may wonder if your current cyber liability coverage addresses these emerging risks.

At the Horan insurance agency in Central New York, we work with multiple carriers to help businesses understand and respond to cybersecurity risks, including those posed by artificial intelligence.

In this article, we'll break down the key types of AI security threats identified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and discuss what this means for your business insurance coverage.

Understanding the Security Risks of Business AI Tools

Artificial intelligence relies on vast amounts of training data to learn and make decisions. This scale makes traditional security monitoring impractical, creating opportunities for attackers that standard cybersecurity measures may not detect. Recent NIST research has identified several key vulnerabilities in AI systems:

Four Key Ways Attackers Target AI Systems

1. Data Poisoning: Malicious actors can corrupt AI training data. For example, if your customer service chatbot learns from online conversations, carefully crafted toxic language could cause it to interact inappropriately with customers.
2. Evasion Attacks: Deployed AI systems can be misled by deceptive inputs. In Syracuse's winter conditions, autonomous delivery vehicles might misinterpret snow-covered road markings or signs.
3. Privacy Breaches: Through systematic questioning, attackers may extract confidential information from AI systems. A compromised chatbot could inadvertently reveal sensitive business data.
4. Abuse Attacks: False information from seemingly legitimate sources can misdirect AI systems. This could cause your AI-powered inventory management to make costly ordering mistakes.

What This Means for Your Business Insurance

Standard cyber liability policies may not fully address incidents involving artificial intelligence. Here's what Central New York businesses might consider:

• Cyber insurance policies could benefit from additional coverage options related to AI incidents
• Coverage limits should reflect potential impacts of AI system compromises
• Incident response strategies may benefit from updates to handle AI-specific issues
• Companies may want to consider including AI security awareness in their training programs

Steps Toward Reducing AI Security Risks

While complete protection against AI attacks remains challenging, businesses can take steps to minimize exposure:

• Create documentation of AI systems and their security measures
• Consider monitoring AI system behavior
• Keep secure copies of training data and system settings
• Consider periodic conversations with your insurance agent about cyber coverage updates

As artificial intelligence becomes more central to business operations, understanding these security vulnerabilities grows more crucial. We've covered how attackers can manipulate AI through data poisoning, evasion attacks, and privacy breaches—risks that could impact your business operations and customer relationships.

The Horan insurance agency aims to help businesses evaluate potential AI-related exposures and explore coverage options that could address these emerging risks. With our understanding of both cybersecurity and the Central New York business environment, we strive to serve as a knowledgeable resource in developing your cyber insurance strategy.

Click the Get a Quote button below to start a conversation about cyber liability coverage for your AI systems.