A natural languages processing model like ChatGPT – or similar machine learning-based language models – is trained on a large amount of textual data. As a result of processing all this data, ChatGPT can produce responses that sound like they were written by a human.
ChatGPT learns as it ingests data. Sharing sensitive business information with ChatGPT could potentially be risky and lead to cybersecurity concerns if it includes sensitive business information
Imagine you feed ChatGPT pre-earnings company financial information, proprietary software code, or materials used for internal presentations without realizing anyone could obtain that sensitive information by simply asking ChatGPT. Using your smartphone to engage with ChatGPT could expose your ChatGPT query history if your smartphone security is breached.
The implications are discussed as we examine whether and how ChatGPT stores its users’ input data, and the possible risks associated with sharing sensitive business information.
Does ChatGPT store users’ input data?
Answer: It’s complicated. Even though ChatGPT does not automatically add data from queries to models specifically for others to query, any prompts are visible to OpenAI, the group behind the large language model.
A cyberattack might compromise databases containing saved prompts as well as embedded learnings, although membership inference attacks have not yet been conducted against the large language learning models that drive ChatGPT. As part of its ongoing efforts to limit access to personal data and sensitive information for language learning models, OpenAI, the company that developed ChatGPT, is working with other companies.
However, the technology is still in its infancy – ChatGPT was only released to the public in November of last year. Within two months of its release, ChatGPT had reached over 100 million users, making it the fastest-growing consumer app ever. As growth and expansion have been rapid, regulations have been late to catch up. Since the user base is so broad, there are numerous security gaps and vulnerabilities.
Risks of sharing business data with ChatGPT
The GPT-2 language learning model, which is comparable to ChatGPT, was found to be able to reliably recall sensitive information from training papers, according to research from Stanford University, Apple, Google, Harvard University, and other institutions that was released in June 2021.
According to the research, GPT-2 could get data with specific personal IDs, replicate precise text sequences, and supply additional sensitive data upon request. As hackers may be able to access machine learning researchers’ data and take their protected intellectual property, these “training data extraction attacks” could pose an increasing threat to their security.
Reports of ChatGPT cybersecurity flaws that have just been fixed have been made public by Cyberhaven, a data security firm. According to the allegations, Cyberhaven has detected and stopped over 67,000 employees at the security firm’s client organisations from attempting to input data on ChatGPT’s platform in an unsafe manner.
According to data from the security platform, the average business releases critical information to ChatGPT hundreds of times each week. Due to employees’ attempts to input data such as source codes, confidential data, customer or patient information, and regulated information, these demands have raised major cybersecurity issues.
The technology used by medical clinics to communicate with patients is private, so patient data is always protected. The team at Weave believes that medical clinics must be able to access actionable data and analytics to make the best decisions for their patients while also maintaining patient confidentiality. However, using ChatGPT can compromise this kind of information’s security.
According to one troubling example, a doctor typed the patient’s name and details about their medical situation into ChatGPT, causing an LLM to write to the insurance company for that patient. The LLM created a PowerPoint presentation using a copy of the entire 2023 strategy document of a company in another concerning example.
Data Exposure
The use of ChatGPT can lead to data leaks. However, there are preventive measures that can be taken to shield your data in advance, and some companies have already taken regulatory action to prevent data leaks. For instance, JP Morgan recently banned all of its employees from using ChatGPT, claiming that it was impossible to know who was using it, why, and how frequently. One general option is to completely block access to ChatGPT, but as the programme evolves, businesses will probably need to come up with other plans that take advantage of the new technology.
Instead, raising awareness among all employees about the potential risks and perils can make workers more cautious about how they interact with ChatGPT. For instance, ChatGPT has openly cautioned Amazon employees to be cautious about the information they disclose.
Employees have been instructed to erase any personally identifying information, such as names, addresses, credit card numbers, and particular job titles at the organisation, as well as to refrain from copying and pasting documents into ChatGPT.
However, limiting the information you and your colleagues share with ChatGPT is only the first step. Next, you should invest in secure communication software that provides robust security, so that you can control where and how your data is shared. A secure API for chat messaging, for example, ensures that your data remains safe from prying eyes. You can provide context-rich, seamless, and most importantly, secure chat experiences by adding chat to your app.
Once more, business owners can avoid cybersecurity breaches by selecting a more specialised programme or platform that is safer to accomplish the same goals. Instead of using ChatGPT to look up current social media metrics, a brand can rely on a well-known social media monitoring tool to maintain track of reach, conversion and engagement rates, and audience information.
Conclusion
Businesses may quickly and easily access resources for productivity, writing, and other tasks with ChatGPT and other comparable natural language learning models. Every employee has access to ChatGPT because it doesn’t require any training to use. As a result, the likelihood of a cybersecurity breach increases.
To stop dangerous data breaches, businesses must conduct extensive education and public awareness efforts. Businesses may wish to use alternate apps and tools in the interim for daily work including communicating with customers and patients, writing memos and emails, creating presentations, and handling security concerns.
It will take some time until the hazards are adequately reduced by developers because ChatGPT is still a new, developing platform. The best method to safeguard your company from potential data breaches is to take preventative action.
