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Wiz reports an open DeepSeek database[7]
Wiz said a publicly accessible ClickHouse database with no authentication held chat history and secret keys. DeepSeek secured it promptly after disclosure.
Overview
Responding to a data breach involving AI
A breach involving AI is handled like any other personal data breach, and the UK target of 72 hours still applies. What changes is where you look: prompts, chat history, keys and storage.
Last reviewed against legislation.gov.uk, National Cyber Security Centre and OWASP GenAI Security Project. Sources
At a glance
- 72 hours
- UK GDPR target for notifying the regulator, counted from becoming aware of the breach[1]
- 13%
- of surveyed organisations reported an attack affecting their AI models or applications[6]
- 97%
- of breached organisations with an AI-related security incident lacked proper AI access controls[6]
- 38 TB
- of private data exposed in one AI research storage account[8]
The latest
AI Breach Response: what has happened so far
Newest first. Each entry links to its source.
NCSC publishes guidance for leaders on AI and cyber security[3]
The guidance tells organisations to have a response plan for AI-related incidents and to understand their supply chains.
NCSC publishes secure AI development guidelines[4]
Version 1.0 covers secure design, development, deployment and operation, and lists incident management processes under secure deployment.
The full timelineIn brief
Three answers first
This is a pattern of incidents rather than a single event. These are the three questions most readers arrive with.
What it is
Data from or about an AI tool ends up somewhere it should not be. OWASP's list of LLM risks names personal details, health and money records, trade secrets and login credentials as things such an application can give away [5]. The cause may be a bug, an open database, a careless link or a member of staff.
Whether it affects you
If staff use AI tools, or a supplier handles your data with them, the question is open. IBM reports that 13% of the organisations it surveyed had suffered an attack touching their AI systems [6]. In 2023 Samsung limited staff use of generative AI after source code was pasted into ChatGPT, according to a company memo reported by the press [10].
What to do first
Write down when you became aware, because the reporting target is measured from then [1]. Next follow the first response steps, then work through the seven actions.
Public cases
What has already happened
Three well documented cases with three different causes.
A software bug
OpenAI traced a March 2023 exposure to a flaw in redis-py, an open-source library. Payment-related details of roughly 1.2% of Plus subscribers who used the service during a nine-hour stretch were visible [9]. Read the cases in detail.
An open database
Wiz came across an unprotected DeepSeek database: more than a million log lines, among them conversations and secret keys [7]. See exposed AI storage.
An over-broad link
A shared storage link published by Microsoft AI researchers opened up about 38 TB of private data, including backups and internal messages [8]. See leaked keys and tokens.
Start here
The one thing to do first
Record the time you became aware
UK GDPR expects the regulator to hear about a reportable breach promptly, and where practicable within 72 hours of you becoming aware [1]. Every later decision rests on that note being accurate.
What to do
Four things to do first
-
1
Note when you became aware
Incident lead and data protection officer
-
2
Stop the exposure and rotate secrets
IT and cloud teams
-
3
Establish what data, whose, and how much
Data protection officer and security lead
-
4
Decide on reporting and record why
Data protection officer and a director
There are seven steps in all, with who does each one. See every step
Am I affected?
Answer a few questions
Check if you are affected
Three questions on whether you could respond well to an AI-related breach today. Nothing you answer leaves this page.
If a supplier told you tomorrow that data from an AI tool you use had leaked, would you not know who decides whether it must be reported?
Quick answers
Questions people ask
Do I have to report an AI data breach?
If personal data is involved, UK GDPR expects the regulator to be told promptly, and where practicable within 72 hours of you becoming aware[1]. You need not report a breach that is unlikely to put anyone's rights and freedoms at risk, but you must still write it up[1].
When does the 72 hours start?
It runs from the moment the controller becomes aware of the breach[1]. Note when and how you were told, because a notice that goes later has to explain the delay[1].
About this site
Primary sources, dated
The CyPro Consulting Ltd team maintains this site. Every version, date and figure comes from 7 named sources, including legislation.gov.uk, National Cyber Security Centre, OWASP GenAI Security Project, and links to the one it came from. Last checked 4 November 2026.
Who we are and how pages are kept currentStart here
The guides, in the order to read them
What to do
A practical order of work for UK organisations after data leaks through an AI tool: awareness, containment, scoping, reporting, supplier and plan.
Read the guide
Timeline
A dated, sourced timeline of public AI-related data exposures and the UK guidance that followed, from the ChatGPT bug to the DeepSeek database.
Read the guide
Questions
Sourced answers on reporting an AI data breach, the 72 hour rule, telling people, supplier breaches, leaked keys and what UK organisations should do.
Read the guideGo deeper
In depth First response 
In depth Response plan 
In depth Reporting 
In depth Telling people 
In depth Supplier breach 
In depth Leaked keys 
In depth Exposed storage 
In depth Staff and AI tools 
In depth Output leaks 
In depth Examples How CyPro can help
Need a hand working through this?
Finding out whether an incident reaches you is one job. Checking your own systems, tightening access and briefing the board are several more. CyPro's responders and consultants can take any of them on.
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When data has leaked through an AI tool, its logs or its storage, the early decisions shape what you must report and to whom. An incident response team helps you contain the exposure, establish what was involved and prepare your notifications.