AI is the new data leak channel (and nobody's ready)

TL;DR

• AI has become one of the main data exfiltration vectors in companies
• Employees copy sensitive data into ChatGPT without thinking
• AI-powered phishing attacks are more sophisticated than ever
• Traditional security isn’t designed for this

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There’s a security problem companies aren’t talking about.

Every day, thousands of employees copy confidential data into ChatGPT, Claude, or any other AI to “work faster.”

Contracts. Customer data. Proprietary code. Internal strategies.

And nobody’s monitoring it.

The new attack vector

Before, data exfiltration required:

• Hacking systems
• Stealing credentials
• Elaborate social engineering

Now, employees do it voluntarily. They copy and paste sensitive data into an external AI to help with their work.

It’s not malicious. It’s convenient. And that makes it more dangerous.

The other side: phishing on steroids

Attackers use AI too.

A phishing email from 5 years ago:

“Dear user, your account has been compromised. Click here to verify.”

A phishing email with AI in 2025:

A perfectly written message, personalized with your name, your boss’s name, references to real internal projects, tone identical to legitimate communications…

AI enables personalized attacks at scale. What used to require manual research on each victim is now automated.

Why traditional security fails

Firewalls protect the perimeter. Antivirus detects known malware. Email filters look for spam patterns.

But none of these detect:

• An employee copying data into an AI
• A perfectly written phishing email with no suspicious links
• Hyper-personalized social engineering attacks

Security tools were designed for a pre-AI world.

What companies are doing (the few that get it)

1. AI usage policies Define what can and cannot be shared with external AIs. Seems obvious, but most companies have no policy at all.

2. Internal AIs Deploy models within company infrastructure. Data doesn’t leave. More expensive, more secure.

3. Data flow monitoring Tools that detect when sensitive information is copied outside the corporate environment. DLP (Data Loss Prevention) adapted for AI.

4. Employee training Most leaks are from ignorance, not malice. Educate on what’s safe to share and what isn’t.

Phishing: the user is still the weakest link

No matter how much technology improves, humans remain the easiest entry point.

And with AI, attacks are:

• More convincing (better writing, better personalization)
• More scalable (thousands of unique emails in minutes)
• Harder to detect (no repeated patterns)

The solution isn’t just technological. It’s education + tools + processes.

What you can do

If you’re an employee:

• Don’t copy sensitive data into external AIs without authorization
• Verify suspicious emails through another channel before acting
• Be wary of artificial urgency (“do it now or lose access”)

If you manage a team:

• Create a clear AI usage policy
• Train your team on new forms of phishing
• Consider URL and domain detection tools

If you’re interested in security:

• This field is exploding. There are huge opportunities for those who understand AI + security.

Coming soon to NeuralFlow

I’m building a phishing URL detection tool to make available to you.

An ML model that analyzes URLs and tells you the probability it’s phishing. It breaks down the URL, checks multiple signals, and gives you a verdict.

It’ll be available soon in the tools section.

Because talking about security is fine. But offering something useful is better.