AI Security Assessment for Small Business
Somebody in your office pasted a client spreadsheet into a free chatbot this month, and nothing on your network noticed. An AI security assessment from NetSys finds the AI tools in use, approved or not, follows the data they were given, and closes the gaps with a short policy, tenant settings and sanctioned tools. It is the discipline we apply to email and endpoints, pointed at the newest exit for data.
The short answer
An AI security assessment is a structured review of how a business uses AI tools and what those tools can reach. It inventories the AI services in use across browsers, mobile devices, Microsoft 365 and third-party software, identifies which company data has gone into them, audits the permissions Copilot inherits from your tenant, reviews any Claude or custom-agent deployment for scoped access, and tests the controls that stop prompt injection and data leakage. NetSys delivers it as a fixed-scope engagement, then fixes what it finds: a written AI usage policy, tenant and browser settings, approved tools and staff training. It starts with a free seven-question check and runs remotely nationwide.
Shadow AI is what happens when the tools are free and one tab away. A bookkeeper drops a vendor ledger into a summarizer. An assistant installs a browser extension that reads every page, including the client portal. Neither is malicious. Both have moved data outside the systems you control, and most free tools keep what they are given. An AI security assessment starts by finding them.
It then answers four questions in plain language. Which AI tools are in use, and by whom. What data has gone into them. What your sanctioned tools, Microsoft Copilot and Anthropic Claude included, can reach through inherited permissions. And whether an outsider could steer those tools with a crafted email, document or web page, which is what prompt injection means in practice. The report is written for an owner, ranked by likely harm, with the fix beside each finding.
Find It, Follow the Data, Then Fix It
Discovery uses signals you already own: Entra ID sign-in and consent logs, Defender and browser telemetry, DNS records, expense lines that show AI subscriptions, and short staff interviews. Each tool is classified by what it retains and who can see it. Copilot gets a permission review, because it surfaces whatever SharePoint has overshared for years. Claude and custom agents get a scope review: what they read, what they write, what happens when a prompt goes wrong. Remediation is an approved tool list, tenant settings, a one-page policy and a training session.
What the AI Security Assessment Covers
Shadow AI Discovery
You cannot govern what you have not found.
- Inventory of AI tools from Entra ID consent grants, browser extensions, DNS logs and expense records
- Staff interviews on how they use AI, without blame
- Personal accounts separated from business accounts, with what each retains
- AI features quietly switched on inside software you already pay for
Data Exposure Review
Where the data went, and whether it can be pulled back.
- Classification of what went into AI tools: client records, financials, credentials, health or legal material
- Retention and training settings checked on every tool that stays
- Data loss prevention rules and browser controls that block the same paste next time
- Deletion requests filed with vendors where a tool has to go
Copilot and Claude Governance
Sanctioned AI is only as safe as the permissions behind it.
- Copilot permission audit: oversharing, dormant sites and the labels it reads from
- Claude and custom-agent scope review, with least privilege on every connector and key
- Prompt injection testing: can a malicious email or web page make your agent act?
- Logging so you can answer who asked what, and what the tool touched
Policy, Training and Evidence
The paperwork your insurer and clients will ask for.
- A written AI usage policy short enough to be read and followed
- Role-based training on what may and may not go into AI tools
- Findings report mapped to cyber-insurance and client security questionnaires
- Quarterly re-check as tools change, included in a managed agreement
Why Businesses Choose NetSys for an AI Security Assessment
Let The Netsys Group assess and help you resolve your exposure. Call 845-203-3914 for your complimentary risk assessment consultation today!
- A cybersecurity and managed IT firm since 1998, with an AI practice that builds the agents it assesses
- Discovery uses the logs you already have; nothing new to install
- Findings written for an owner, with the fix beside each one
- Copilot and Claude reviewed by the people who deploy them for clients
- Remediation included in a month-to-month managed agreement, with no long-term contract
- Starts free: a seven-question AI security check, scored on the spot
Where we deliver AI Security Assessment
AI Security Assessment in New York City · AI Security Assessment in Greenwich, CT · AI Security Assessment in Jersey City, NJ · AI Security Assessment in Palo Alto, CA — and remotely wherever your systems run. See all locations and service areas.
AI Security Assessment FAQs
What is an AI security assessment?
An AI security assessment is a review of every way AI tools touch your business data. It inventories the tools staff use, sanctioned or not, identifies what has gone into them, checks what Copilot or Claude can reach through inherited permissions, and tests whether an outsider could manipulate those tools. You receive a ranked findings report, a usage policy and the controls to enforce it.
How do I find out if employees are using shadow AI?
Look at the logs you already have. Entra ID records a consent grant when someone signs into an AI tool with a work account, DNS and web filtering show which AI domains are visited, browser management lists extensions, and expense reports show subscriptions. Then ask people directly, without blame, because most shadow AI is someone trying to finish faster.
Is it safe to put company data into ChatGPT or Claude?
It depends on the account, not the brand. A personal free account may retain what it is given and use it to improve the service, and nobody in your business can see or delete it. A business account with retention controls, single sign-on through Entra ID and a signed data agreement is a different tool. The assessment moves people onto sanctioned accounts.
What is prompt injection, in plain terms?
Prompt injection is when someone hides instructions inside content your AI tool will read, such as an email, a PDF or a web page, so the tool follows the attacker instead of you. An assistant that summarizes inbound mail can be told, by that mail, to forward the thread elsewhere. It matters most once AI tools can take actions.
Do we need an AI security assessment if we already have Microsoft Copilot?
Yes, and Copilot is often the reason. Copilot answers from everything a user can already access in Microsoft 365, including folders shared with everyone years ago and forgotten. Before Copilot, nobody found them; afterward, the search box does. The assessment audits that permission surface, fixes oversharing and labels, and covers the unsanctioned tools people use alongside Copilot.
How much does an AI security assessment cost?
The first step is free: a seven-question AI security check on our website that scores your exposure immediately. The full assessment is quoted as a fixed-scope project based on headcount and how many systems and AI tools are in play, so you know the number before we start. Remediation and quarterly re-checks are included in a month-to-month managed agreement.
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