Tips to stay safe from AI-powered apps
Over 92 per cent of organisations worldwide have experienced some security breaches, and approximately 72 per cent of businesses have also faced AI security breaches—clearly illustrating a reality and not just fiction on the security impact of AI in general.
Published: 04:02 PM,Feb 17,2025 | EDITED : 08:02 PM,Feb 17,2025
My article last week revolved around whether the Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered apps support or are exposing you. I received quite a number of feedback on the same, and specifically, how can one protect themselves from AI-powered apps? Hence, I decided this week to focus on cybersecurity tips that one can follow in order to protect oneself from snoopy AI apps.
First and foremost, let’s get one thing clear. AI-powered apps are very useful and can truly transform the way you work personally and professionally. I personally use some of the AI-powered apps, and there is no question about the kind of value these apps as tools provide today, and surely tomorrow (apart from taking our jobs away and invading our world, of course).
Some of the AI apps, however, as I had shared in my last week's article, require and store a lot of information about you, which, if it gets into the hands of mischievous users (hackers and the like), would take you for a wild ride. Over 92 per cent of organisations worldwide have experienced some security breaches, and approximately 72 per cent of businesses have also faced AI security breaches—clearly illustrating a reality and not just fiction on the security impact of AI in general.
So what to do in order to be safe? First things first, ensure you check the permission of the AI-powered app you’re downloading. Look at what they are trying to access from the device you’re downloading and would be using. Are they accessing your smartphone or tablet's microphone, your photos, videos, etc.? Why do they need to access that information? Make sure you only allow necessary access by giving permissions (turning on or off accordingly). For example, if you are downloading an AI photo editing app, disable or don’t allow access to anything unrelated to editing.
Secondly, avoid sharing sensitive data with the AI-powered app you downloaded. Sensitive data can be things such as (but not limited to) passwords, security numbers, passport details, and identification numbers
I read of an AI smart home assistant device that recorded private conversations at one of the homes and sent the recorded media to another company accidentally. That can happen to you if you are not careful.
Thirdly, before downloading the new AI-powered tool in town, ensure you verify the app's authenticity. Is it from an official app store (Apple, Google, or Huawei)? Do research online by reading about the app and whether you find any positive feedback on the same. Furthermore, review the app’s privacy policy to understand and see what they're doing with their data and who they're sharing it with.
Fourthly, always ensure you update the AI-powered app irrespective of its authenticity. Doing so will help ensure you avoid any vulnerabilities.
To conclude my article this week, I would like to re-emphasize the benefits AI-powered apps can offer you, from incredible convenience, efficiency, and innovation. Nevertheless, some AI-powered apps also come with serious security risks, which include but are not limited to data breaches. The amount of data that you input into those apps can be used maliciously. By carefully following the tips I shared in my article today, you can continue to enjoy the benefits without falling victim to hackers. Until we catch up again next week, stay updated and be safe.
The author is the founder of Knowledge Oman
First and foremost, let’s get one thing clear. AI-powered apps are very useful and can truly transform the way you work personally and professionally. I personally use some of the AI-powered apps, and there is no question about the kind of value these apps as tools provide today, and surely tomorrow (apart from taking our jobs away and invading our world, of course).
Some of the AI apps, however, as I had shared in my last week's article, require and store a lot of information about you, which, if it gets into the hands of mischievous users (hackers and the like), would take you for a wild ride. Over 92 per cent of organisations worldwide have experienced some security breaches, and approximately 72 per cent of businesses have also faced AI security breaches—clearly illustrating a reality and not just fiction on the security impact of AI in general.
So what to do in order to be safe? First things first, ensure you check the permission of the AI-powered app you’re downloading. Look at what they are trying to access from the device you’re downloading and would be using. Are they accessing your smartphone or tablet's microphone, your photos, videos, etc.? Why do they need to access that information? Make sure you only allow necessary access by giving permissions (turning on or off accordingly). For example, if you are downloading an AI photo editing app, disable or don’t allow access to anything unrelated to editing.
Secondly, avoid sharing sensitive data with the AI-powered app you downloaded. Sensitive data can be things such as (but not limited to) passwords, security numbers, passport details, and identification numbers
I read of an AI smart home assistant device that recorded private conversations at one of the homes and sent the recorded media to another company accidentally. That can happen to you if you are not careful.
Thirdly, before downloading the new AI-powered tool in town, ensure you verify the app's authenticity. Is it from an official app store (Apple, Google, or Huawei)? Do research online by reading about the app and whether you find any positive feedback on the same. Furthermore, review the app’s privacy policy to understand and see what they're doing with their data and who they're sharing it with.
Fourthly, always ensure you update the AI-powered app irrespective of its authenticity. Doing so will help ensure you avoid any vulnerabilities.
To conclude my article this week, I would like to re-emphasize the benefits AI-powered apps can offer you, from incredible convenience, efficiency, and innovation. Nevertheless, some AI-powered apps also come with serious security risks, which include but are not limited to data breaches. The amount of data that you input into those apps can be used maliciously. By carefully following the tips I shared in my article today, you can continue to enjoy the benefits without falling victim to hackers. Until we catch up again next week, stay updated and be safe.
The author is the founder of Knowledge Oman