HiddenLayer in the News

Survey of security leaders shows AI adoption is accelerating without proper security measures

AUSTIN, Texas - March 6, 2024 - HiddenLayer, the leading security provider for artificial intelligence (AI) models and assets, today released its inaugural AI Threat Landscape Report highlighting the pervasive use of AI and the risks involved in its deployment. Nearly all surveyed companies, 98%, consider at least some of their AI models crucial to their business success, and 77% identified breaches to their AI in the past year. Yet only 14% of IT leaders said their respective companies are planning and testing for adversarial attacks on AI models.

The report surveyed 150 IT security and data science leaders to shed light on the biggest vulnerabilities impacting AI today, their implications on commercial and federal organizations, and cutting-edge advancements in security controls for AI in all its forms. 

The survey uncovered AI’s widespread utilization by today’s businesses as companies have, on average, a staggering 1,689 AI models in production. In response, security for AI has become a priority, with 94% of IT leaders allocating budgets to secure their AI in 2024. Yet only 61% are highly confident in their allocation, and 92% are still developing a comprehensive plan for this emerging threat. These findings reveal the need for support in implementing security for AI.

“AI is the most vulnerable technology ever to be deployed in production systems,” said Chris "Tito" Sestito, Co-Founder and CEO of HiddenLayer. “The rapid emergence of AI has resulted in an unprecedented technological revolution, of which every organization in the world is affected. Our first-ever AI Threat Landscape Report reveals the breadth of risks to the world’s most important technology. HiddenLayer is proud to be on the front lines of research and guidance around these threats to help organizations navigate the security for AI landscape.”

Risks Involved with AI Use

Adversaries can leverage a variety of methods to utilize AI to their advantage. The most common risks of AI usage include:

• Manipulation to give biased, inaccurate, or harmful information. 
• Creation of harmful content, such as malware, phishing, and propaganda. 
• Development of deep fake images, audio, and video.
• Leveraged by malicious actors to provide access to dangerous or illegal information.

Common Types of Attacks on AI

There are three major types of attacks on AI:

• Adversarial Machine Learning Attacks target AI algorithms, aimed to alter AI’s behavior, evade AI-based detection, or steal the underlying technology. 
• Generative AI System Attacks threaten AI’s filters and restrictions, intended to generate content deemed harmful or illegal.
• Supply Chain Attacks attack ML artifacts and platforms with the intention of arbitrary code execution and delivery of traditional malware.

Challenges to Securing AI

While industries are reaping the benefits of increased efficiency and innovation thanks to AI, many organizations do not have proper security measures in place to ensure safe use. Some of the biggest challenges reported by organizations in securing their AI include:

• Shadow IT: 61% of IT leaders acknowledge shadow AI, solutions that are not officially known or under the control of the IT department, as a problem within their organizations.
• Third-Party AIs: 89% express concern about security vulnerabilities associated with integrating third-party AIs, and 75% believe third-party AI integrations pose a greater risk than existing threats.

Best Practices for Securing AI

HiddenLayer has outlined recommendations for organizations to begin securing their AI, including:

• Discovery and Asset Management: Begin by identifying where AI is already used in your organization. What applications has your organization already purchased that use AI or have AI-enabled features?
• Risk Assessment and Threat Modeling: Perform threat modeling to understand the potential vulnerabilities and attack vectors that could be exploited by malicious actors to complete your understanding of your organization’s AI risk exposure.
• Data Security and Privacy: Go beyond the typical implementation of encryption, access controls, and secure data storage practices to protect your AI model data. Evaluate and implement security solutions that are purpose-built to provide runtime protection for AI models.
• Model Robustness and Validation: Regularly assess the robustness of AI models against adversarial attacks. This involves pen-testing the model's response to various attacks, such as intentionally manipulated inputs.
• Secure Development Practices: Incorporate security into your AI development lifecycle. Train your data scientists, data engineers, and developers on the various attack vectors associated with AI.
• Continuous Monitoring and Incident Response: Implement continuous monitoring mechanisms to detect anomalies and potential security incidents in real-time for your AI, and develop a robust AI incident response plan to quickly and effectively address security breaches or anomalies.

HiddenLayer’s products and services accelerate the process of securing AI, with its AISec Platform providing a comprehensive AI security solution that ensures the integrity and safety of models throughout an organization's MLOps pipeline. HiddenLayer also provides its Machine Learning Detection & Response (MLDR), which enables organizations to automate and scale the protection of AI models and ensure their security in real-time, and its Model Scanner, which enables companies to evaluate the security and integrity of their ML artifacts before deploying them.

For more information, view the full 2024 Report. 

About HiddenLayer

HiddenLayer is the leading provider of security for AI. Its security platform helps enterprises safeguard the machine learning models behind their most important products. HiddenLayer is the only company to offer turnkey security for AI that does not add unnecessary complexity to models and does not require access to raw data and algorithms. Founded by a team with deep roots in security and ML, HiddenLayer aims to protect enterprise’s AI from inference, bypass, extraction attacks, and model theft. The company is backed by a group of strategic investors, including M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund, Booz Allen Ventures, IBM Ventures, and Capital One Ventures.

Contact

David Sack
SutherlandGold for HiddenLayer
hiddenlayer@sutherlandgold.com

HiddenLayer, alongside OpenPolicy AI Coalition members, is excited to partner with the NIST U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium (AISIC).

AUSTIN, Texas - February 8, 2024 - Today HiddenLayer, the leading security provider for artificial intelligence (AI) models and assets, announced that via the OpenPolicy AI Coalition, it joins in the participation of more than 200 of the nation’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) stakeholders to participate in a Department of Commerce initiative to support the development and deployment of trustworthy and safe AI. Established by the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium (AISIC) will bring together AI creators and users, academics, government and industry researchers, and civil society organizations to meet this mission.

“We proudly join the NIST Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Consortium alongside a coalition of AI innovators brought together by OpenPolicy, supporting the trusted deployment of AI and advancing the administration’s policy goals,” said Chris Sestito, CEO & Co-Founder, HiddenLayer. “Our mission to provide the most comprehensive security solution for AI is rooted in our commitment to protect government, industry, and society at large from all emerging AI threats.”

“OpenPolicy and its coalition of innovative AI companies are honored to take part in AISIC. The launch of the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute is a necessary step forward in ensuring the trusted deployment of AI, and achieving the administration’s AI policy goals,” said Dr. Amit Elazari, CEO and Co-Founder, OpenPolicy. “Supporting the trusted deployment and development of AI entails supporting the development of cutting-edge innovative solutions needed to protect government, industry, and society from emerging AI threats. Innovative companies stand at the forefront of developing leading security, safety, and trustworthy AI and privacy solutions, and these are the communities we represent. Our AI coalition is committed to supporting the U.S. government and implementing agencies in this effort and will provide research, frameworks, benchmarks, policy support, and tooling to advance the trusted deployment and development of AI.”

“The U.S. government has a significant role to play in setting the standards and developing the tools we need to mitigate the risks and harness the immense potential of artificial intelligence. President Biden directed us to pull every lever to accomplish two key goals: set safety standards and protect our innovation ecosystem. That’s precisely what the U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium is set up to help us do,” said Secretary Raimondo. “Through President Biden’s landmark Executive Order, we will ensure America is at the front of the pack – and by working with this group of leaders from industry, civil society, and academia, together we can confront these challenges to develop the measurements and standards we need to maintain America’s competitive edge and develop AI responsibly.”

The consortium includes more than 200 member companies and organizations that are on the frontlines of developing and using AI systems, as well as the civil society and academic teams that are building the foundational understanding of how AI can and will transform our society. These entities represent the nation’s largest companies and innovative startups; creators of the world’s most advanced AI systems and hardware; key members of civil society and the academic community; and representatives of professions with deep engagement in AI’s use today. The consortium also includes state and local governments, as well as non-profits. The consortium will also work with organizations from like-minded nations that have a key role to play in setting interoperable and effective safety around the world.

The full list of consortium participants is available here.

About HiddenLayer

HiddenLayer, a Gartner-recognized AI Application Security company, helps enterprises safeguard the machine learning models behind their most important products with a comprehensive security platform. Only HiddenLayer offers turnkey security for AI that does not add unnecessary complexity to models and does not require access to raw data and algorithms. Founded in March of 2022 by experienced security and ML professionals, HiddenLayer is based in Austin, Texas. For additional information, including product updates and the latest research reports, visit www.hiddenlayer.com.

Contacts

Hannah Williams
SutherlandGold for HiddenLayer
hiddenlayer@sutherlandgold.com

Messdaghi Brings Proven Expertise and Diverse Background to Elevate Security Practices

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 30, 2024 -- HiddenLayer, the leading security provider for artificial intelligence (AI) models and assets, has welcomed Chloé Messdaghi as its Head of Threat Intelligence. She is focused on sharing the latest Security for AI research, building bridges between ML developers, Security Researchers, Data Scientists, and the CISO communities, and driving growth of the Security for AI category through education.

Messdaghi brings with her a proven track record of advising and developing solutions and strategies that have driven vast improvements in security teams. She has extensive knowledge of the industry, coming from multiple tenures in security-based roles, including within security for AI. With a background in politics, working for the Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and as a volunteer for the United Nations, Messdaghi brings a unique perspective to the job. 

"We are thrilled to bring Chloé on to drive growth not only for HiddenLayer but the category as a whole," said Chris Sestito, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at HiddenLayer. “Her ability to tap into the MLOps community and drive growth will be invaluable to the HiddenLayer mission.”

Messdaghi has won numerous awards during her career, including Cybersecurity Woman of the Year, Cybersecurity Advocate of the Year, and has been named a Power Player in the Cybersecurity industry by both SC Media's Women in IT Security and Business Insider. She serves as a board member for The Diana Initiative and is an Advisory Board Member for the Election Security Research Forum.

"I am incredibly excited to join HiddenLayer and expand my ability to truly impact the security for AI category," said Messdaghi. "With this new role, I will be able to accelerate AI/ML adoption in a proactive and sustainable way by interacting with the communities at every stage of the ML Ops Lifecycle.”

Her research, op-eds, and commentary have been featured in numerous outlets, including Forbes, Business Insider, Bloomberg, and TechRepublic. She holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of California at Davis and a MSc in Politics from the University of Edinburgh.

About HiddenLayer

HiddenLayer, a Gartner-recognized AI Application Security company, helps enterprises safeguard the machine learning models behind their most important products with a comprehensive security platform. Only HiddenLayer offers turnkey security for AI that does not add unnecessary complexity to models and does not require access to raw data and algorithms. Founded in March of 2022 by experienced security and ML professionals, HiddenLayer is based in Austin, Texas. For additional information, including product updates and the latest research reports, visit www.hiddenlayer.com.

Contacts

Hannah Williams
SutherlandGold for HiddenLayer
hiddenlayer@sutherlandgold.com

HiddenLayer bolsters its offerings after earning a spot on the CRN® 2023 Stellar Startups List

AUSTIN, Texas - January 23, 2024 - HiddenLayer, the leading security provider for artificial intelligence (AI) models and assets, today announced a new partner program to empower enterprises with complete AI protection including rapid threat detection and security across the entire MLOps lifecycle.

“Our Channel Partner Program is designed to drive innovation by allowing partners to introduce security for AI to their customers, helping to educate more businesses about a new threat landscape,” said Rebecca Cahak, Head of Channel, HiddenLayer. “By leveraging this new offering, partners will ensure margin and deal protection, leverage incentives, access flexible and easy-to-use training tools, demo environments, and proof of value tools to drive success.”

The Channel Partner Program allows partners to seamlessly onboard while providing predictable, transparent pricing and flexible licensing models, and a first-of-its-kind unobtrusive, automated, scalable Artificial Intelligence Security (AISec) Platform. Partners will be able to educate customers on a new threat landscape and provide the solutions they need to protect their AI, and competitive edge, build stronger relationships, and establish their team as AI leaders for their customers.

"The HiddenLayer line of products is an important component in our AI security service offerings,” said Matt Keating, Head of AI Security at Booz Allen Hamilton. “We are excited to continue to strengthen our strategic partnership with the HiddenLayer team, furthering our ability for joint strategy and co-solutioning.”

HiddenLayer aims to optimize its current partner network, enhancing it through streamlined support and collaborative offerings. There will be three tiers for the program, Covert, Concealed, and Clandestine, so customers can work together with HiddenLayer to achieve the best-shared outcome. Each tier includes pricing discounts, free online training for sales, and technical enablement and security for AI marketing partnerships. Concealed includes free on-site training and performance incentive programs for extra financial success. Clandestine includes everything previously mentioned, with the addition of account mapping, executive security research briefings, and more.

“By joining HiddenLayer’s partner program, we’re enabling customers to safeguard against constantly evolving cybersecurity risks,” said Rick Echevarria, Vice President and General Manager, Intel Security Center of Excellence. “We are now able to provide a scalable security solution for AI and help more businesses foster the acceleration of safer AI adoption.”

Additionally, HiddenLayer recently announced that CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company, named HiddenLayer to its 2023 Stellar Startups list. This annual list, previously known as CRN Emerging Vendors, recognizes fast-rising technology manufacturers committed to delivering leading-edge solutions that propel innovation and growth in the IT channel.

Learn more about HiddenLayer’s Channel Partner Program here.

About HiddenLayer

HiddenLayer, a Gartner-recognized AI Application Security company, helps enterprises safeguard the machine learning models behind their most important products with a comprehensive security platform. Only HiddenLayer offers turnkey security for AI that does not add unnecessary complexity to models and does not require access to raw data and algorithms. Founded in March of 2022 by experienced security and ML professionals, HiddenLayer is based in Austin, Texas. For additional information, including product updates and the latest research reports, visit www.hiddenlayer.com.

Contacts

Hannah Williams
SutherlandGold for HiddenLayer
hiddenlayer@sutherlandgold.com

AUSTIN, Texas - January 9, 2024 - HiddenLayer today announced its participation in the Microsoft Security Copilot Partner Private Preview. HiddenLayer was selected based on their proven experience with Microsoft Security technologies, willingness to explore and provide feedback on cutting edge functionality, and close relationship with Microsoft. 

“AI is one of the defining technologies of our time and has the potential to drive meaningful, step-change progress in cybersecurity,” said Ann Johnson, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security Business Development. “Security is a team sport, and we are pleased to work alongside our Security Copilot partner ecosystem to deliver customers solutions that enhance cyber defenses and make the promise of AI real.” 

HiddenLayer is working with Microsoft product teams to help shape Security Copilot product development in several ways, including validation and refinement of new and upcoming scenarios, providing feedback on product development and operations to be incorporated into future product releases, and validation and feedback of APIs to assist with Security Copilot extensibility. 

“Microsoft has long been a champion of cybersecurity and AI, and HiddenLayer shares a common commitment to securing AI and machine learning models through the application of traditional cybersecurity techniques,” said Abigail Maines, Chief Revenue Officer, HiddenLayer. “Our participation in the Security Copilot’s capabilities will bolster the protection of enterprises’ most important technology, and give us the opportunity to influence and shape product development throughout the space.”

Security Copilot is the first AI-powered security product that enables security professionals to respond to threats quickly, process signals at machine speed, and assess risk exposure in minutes. It combines an advanced large language model (LLM) with a security-specific model that is informed by Microsoft's unique global threat intelligence and more than 65 trillion daily signals.

About HiddenLayer:

HiddenLayer, a Gartner-recognized AI Application Security company, helps enterprises safeguard the machine learning models behind their most important products with a comprehensive security platform. Only HiddenLayer offers turnkey security for AI that does not add unnecessary complexity to models and does not require access to raw data and algorithms. Founded in March of 2022 by experienced security and ML professionals, HiddenLayer is based in Austin, Texas. For additional information, including product updates and the latest research reports, visit www.hiddenlayer.com.

For additional information: 

David Sack
SutherlandGold for HiddenLayer
hiddenlayer@sutherlandgold.com

Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Underscoring commitment to elevating Security for AI standards

AUSTIN, Texas — Dec 19, 2023 — HiddenLayer, the leading security provider for artificial intelligence (AI) models and assets, proudly announces its partnership with the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE®) Program as a CVE Numbering Authority (CNA), reinforcing our commitment to enhancing AI system security.

HiddenLayer joins over 300 organizations across 37 countries, authorized by the CVE Program to assign CVE IDs to vulnerabilities within their specific scopes, enabling the efficient collaboration of multiple parties to address known AI security risks. 

Each CNA has a specific Scope of responsibility for vulnerability identification and publishing. HiddenLayer is now authorized to assign CVEs to new zero-day vulnerabilities in both third-party software that does not fall under the scope of another CNA, and within their own products. This enables HiddenLayer in its mission to help protect the world’s most valuable technology, Artificial Intelligence.

“Being acknowledged as a CNA underscores HiddenLayer’s dedication and responsibility towards enhancing security for AI,” said Tom Bonner, VP of Research of HiddenLayer. “With the recent proliferation of machine learning and artificial intelligence, it is imperative that organizations have a complete awareness of the risks posed by insecure libraries, applications, and services. By researching and reporting vulnerabilities in critical ML and AI systems, HiddenLayer is underlining our commitment to help advance the security posture for the entire industry.”

The CVE Program, sponsored by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), aims to identify, define, and catalog publicly disclosed cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The CVE Program is community-driven and is steered by an international board of industry, academic, and government representatives.

HiddenLayer offers a comprehensive suite of products through its AISec Platform to safeguard AI models from adversarial attacks, vulnerabilities, and malicious code injections. In addition, HiddenLayer collaborates with clients, providing consulting services leveraging deep domain expertise in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, reverse engineering, and threat research.

HiddenLayer’s Adversarial Machine Learning (AdvML) experts empower cybersecurity teams and data scientists with knowledge, insight, and tools to integrate security into the MLOps Pipeline, understand the latest adversarial AI tactics and countermeasures, map the current AI threat landscape, develop high-impact attack scenarios, validate AI environments, and implement operational security controls that satisfy both data science and security teams’ needs. 

About the CVE Program

The mission of the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE®) Program is to identify, define, and catalog publicly disclosed cybersecurity vulnerabilities. There is one CVE Record for each vulnerability in the catalog. The vulnerabilities are discovered then assigned and published by organizations from around the world that have partnered with the CVE Program. Partners publish CVE Records to communicate consistent descriptions of vulnerabilities. Information technology and cybersecurity professionals use CVE Records to ensure they are discussing the same issue, and to coordinate their efforts to prioritize and address the vulnerabilities.  

About HiddenLayer

HiddenLayer, a Gartner-recognized AI Application Security company, helps enterprises safeguard the machine learning models behind their most important products with a comprehensive security platform. Only HiddenLayer offers turnkey security for AI that does not add unnecessary complexity to models and does not require access to raw data and algorithms. Founded in March of 2022 by experienced security and ML professionals, HiddenLayer is based in Austin, Texas. For additional information, including product updates and the latest research reports, visit www.hiddenlayer.com.

HiddenLayer is proud to announce the achievement of Service Organization Control 2 (SOC 2) Type II compliance. This milestone underscores our commitment to upholding rigorous standards in security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy, aligning with our core mission to secure Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning across enterprise and the public sector.

This accomplishment, shortly following our Series A funding, emphasizes our dedication to safeguarding our customer’s data from the outset through robust operational practices.

Understanding SOC 2

SOC 2 is an industry standard set by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and a trusted framework for customers and third-party auditors to evaluate a service organization's information management systems' security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.

HiddenLayer, alongside its Machine Learning Detection & Response platform, has successfully met SOC 2 standards, validating the design and operational effectiveness of our controls in security, availability, and confidentiality.

SOC 2 compliance is more than a milestone. It resonates with our customers, partners, and investors. It enhances our ability to form partnerships with organizations prioritizing data security and strengthens our capacity to continue to protect organizations from adversarial AI attacks.

What’s Next?

HiddenLayer remains committed to surpassing industry standards. We will continue implementing best practices to prioritize sensitive information protection across our data, systems, and confidentiality processes.

In essence, SOC 2 compliance signifies HiddenLayer's dedication to setting the benchmark for Data Security for AI, reinforcing the trust our stakeholders place in us.