What is Shadow AI?
Shadow AI refers to the unsanctioned use of AI tools and services by employees within an organization. Driven by the desire for productivity, employees often sign up for tools like ChatGPT, Quillbot, or various "PDF summarizers" using personal accounts, bypassing corporate IT and security controls.
The Risks of Untamed Innovation
While the intent is usually positive (efficiency), the outcome can be catastrophic:
- Data Exfiltration: Company data is uploaded to servers with unknown security postures.
- Loss of IP Rights: Terms of Service may grant the AI provider rights to use the inputs.
- Compliance Violations: Processing customer data on unapproved platforms violates GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA.
The Sinaptic.AI Approach: Enable, Don't Block
Banning AI is ineffective; employees will find workarounds (e.g., using personal phones). The smarter approach is to enable safe usage. Sinaptic.AI facilitates this strategy:
1. Monitor and Discover
Our Enterprise solution helps you identify which AI tools are being used. This data is crucial for IT to decide which tools to officially sanction and purchase Enterprise licenses for.
2. Sanitize the Input
Allow employees to use the best tools for the job, but ensure they don't accidentally paste the "Crown Jewels." Sinaptic.AI scrubs the input of sensitive identifiers, allowing the AI to process the logic without seeing the private data.
Turning Shadow AI into Competitive Advantage
By bringing Shadow AI into the light with Sinaptic.AI, you transform an uncontrolled risk into a managed capabilities program, boosting workforce productivity without compromising security.