Someone on Your Team Already Pasted Confidential Data Into a Public AI Chatbot
Shadow AI — unauthorized AI tool use — is one of the fastest-growing data-leakage vectors, and most organizations don't yet have a policy addressing it.
CORE OBJECTIVE
You cannot govern the AI use you cannot see.
This service finds where employees already use unsanctioned AI tools with sensitive company or customer data, and builds the acceptable-use policy that is missing. It is both an awareness intervention and a governance deliverable.
Sample layout with example entries, not a real client result.
WHAT THE SERVICE DELIVERS
Four deliverables, one governed outcome.
Shadow AI usage discovery
Finds where employees already use unsanctioned AI tools, scoped to organisational risk patterns and not to individuals.
Data exposure risk assessment
Shows which tools touch sensitive company or customer data, and how serious each exposure is.
AI acceptable-use policy development
Builds the policy most organisations are missing: what is allowed, with which data, and who approves new tools.
Targeted awareness training
Teaches staff the rules in the situations they actually meet, so the policy changes behaviour.
WHY GOVERNANCE BEATS A BAN
Banning AI tools does not stop people using them.
Employees use these tools anyway, often on personal devices. The service starts from the fact that adoption is already happening, and builds a policy and awareness layer that makes it safe.
Prohibit and hope
- Use moves out of sight.
- No view of what data leaves.
- No rules for approved use.
Discover, set rules, train
- Use is found and mapped
- Exposure is rated by data type
- Approved tools and clear rules, with staff trained to follow them
HOW IT RUNS
From first discovery to a policy people follow.
Discovery is scoped to respect employee privacy. It identifies organisational risk patterns and does not monitor individuals.
Discover
Map where unsanctioned AI tools are already in use.
Assess
Rate the exposure of the data involved.
Govern
Write and agree the acceptable-use policy.
Train
Brief staff on the policy so it is followed in practice.
IDEAL FOR
Organisations without a formal AI acceptable-use policy.
That is most organisations today. If staff handle customer records, source code or confidential documents, the service shows where that data is already going.
Looking for staff training only? The Insider Threat Awareness Series includes a module on shadow AI. This service is the discovery and governance work behind it.
Frequently asked questions
Does this require blocking AI tools entirely?
No. The goal is governed, safe use, not prohibition.
How is shadow AI usage discovered without invasive monitoring?
Discovery is scoped to respect employee privacy. It identifies organisational risk patterns, not individual behaviour.
Is this the same as the shadow AI module in the Insider Threat Awareness Series?
No. The module is staff training. This service finds the tools in use, assesses the data exposure and writes the policy.
Does it involve personal data?
Where staff paste personal data into AI tools, data protection obligations under the NDPA 2023 (enforced by the NDPC) may apply. We scope the service with this in mind.
Staff training for the policy runs on the ProtectYourData platform. See how the training works.
See how the training works →