Exposure
Responding to an exposed AI database
An exposed store counts as a breach until you can show nobody else reached it. Close it, then use the logs to find out.
Last reviewed against legislation.gov.uk, National Cyber Security Centre and OWASP GenAI Security Project. Sources
How it happens
Two real routes
An open port
A link that opens everything
Response
What to do
-
1
Close it. Remove public access and require authentication, or invalidate the link. -
2
Preserve logs for the period the store was open and work out how long that was. Wiz's sampled DeepSeek entries dated from 6 January 2025, and its post appeared on 29 January [7]. -
3
Establish what was reachable and whether anyone else read it. -
4
Assume write access was possible where the permissions allowed it. Wiz noted that a malicious file could have been placed in the Microsoft account [8]. -
5
Decide on reporting.
Controls
Find it before someone else does
- Scan your own internet-facing assets for services on unusual ports.
- Review storage accounts and shared links for scope and expiry.
- Keep public datasets apart from internal data [8].
- Check that downloaded model files come from a source you trust, as some file formats can run code [8].
See also leaked keys and tokens.
The evidence gap
You may never learn who else found it. If your logs cannot show, say so in the record and let that weigh in the reporting decision [1].
Keep reading
Read next
Staff and AI tools
How to respond when staff have entered personal or confidential data into a public AI tool: scoping, supplier requests, reporting and what to change.
Read the guide
Output leaks
What to do when an AI tool reveals one person's data to another, or discloses confidential content in its answers: scoping, containment and fixes.
Read the guide
Examples
Four documented AI-related data exposures, ChatGPT, Samsung, Microsoft and DeepSeek, with the cause of each and the lesson for UK organisations.
Read the guideHow 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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Our consultants put the controls in place that limit the damage when something is missed: firewall rules, network isolation and tighter admin access.
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Worried this affects you?
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.