Privacy fears lead enterprises to ban GenAI use
New research reveals that that most organizations are limiting the use of generative AI over data privacy and security issues, and 27 percent have banned its use, at least temporarily.
The study from Cisco surveyed 2,600 privacy and security professionals and finds that among concerns cited are threats to an organization's legal and Intellectual Property rights (69 percent), and the risk of disclosure of information to the public or competitors (68 percent).
Most organizations are aware of these risks and are putting in place controls to limit exposure. 63 percent have established limitations on what data can be entered, 61 percent have limits on which GenAI tools can be used by employees, and 27 percent say their organization has banned GenAI applications altogether for the time being. However, many individuals have entered information that could be problematic, including employee information (45 percent) or non-public information about the company (48 percent).
Organizations do recognize the need to reassure their customers about how their data is being used, and 98 percent say that external privacy certifications are an important factor in their buying decisions.
"94 percent of respondents said their customers would not buy from them if they did not adequately protect data," says Harvey Jang, Cisco vice president and chief privacy officer. "They are looking for hard evidence the organization can be trusted. Privacy has become inextricably tied to customer trust and loyalty. This is even more true in the era of AI, where investing in privacy better positions organizations to leverage AI ethically and responsibly."
The study also shows that over the past five years, privacy spending has more than doubled, benefits have trended upwards, and returns have remained strong. This year, 95 percent say that privacy's benefits exceed its costs, and the average organization reports getting privacy benefits of 1.6 times their spending. 80 percent are getting significant 'Loyalty and Trust' benefits from their privacy investments, and this is even higher (92 percent) for the most privacy-mature organizations.
The full Cisco 2024 Data Privacy Benchmark Study is available from the company's site and there’s an infographic summary of the findings below.
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