Identifying the evolving security threats to AI models

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly evolved into a cornerstone of technological and business innovation, permeating every sector and fundamentally transforming how we interact with the world. AI tools now streamline decision-making, optimize operations, and enable new, personalized experiences.

However, this rapid expansion brings with it a complex and growing threat landscape—one that combines traditional cybersecurity risks with unique vulnerabilities specific to AI. These emerging risks can include data manipulation, adversarial attacks, and exploitation of machine learning models, each posing serious potential impacts on privacy, security, and trust.

As AI continues to become deeply integrated into critical infrastructures, from healthcare and finance to national security, it’s crucial for organizations to adopt a proactive, layered defense strategy. By remaining vigilant and continuously identifying and addressing these vulnerabilities, businesses can protect not only their AI systems but also the integrity and resilience of their broader digital environments.

The new threats facing AI models and users

As the use of AI expands, so does the complexity of the threats it faces. Some of the most pressing threats involve trust in digital content, backdoors intentionally or unintentionally embedded in models, traditional security gaps exploited by attackers, and novel techniques that cleverly bypass existing safeguards. Additionally, the rise of deepfakes and synthetic media further complicates the landscape, creating challenges around verifying authenticity and integrity in AI-generated content.

Trust in digital content: As AI-generated content slowly becomes indistinguishable from real images, companies are building safeguards to stop the spread of misinformation. What happens if a vulnerability is found in one of these safeguards? Watermark manipulation, for example, allows adversaries to tamper with the authenticity of images generated by AI models. This technique can add or remove invisible watermarks that mark content as AI-generated, undermining trust in the content and fostering misinformation—a scenario that can lead to severe social ramifications.

Backdoors in models: Due to the open source nature of AI models through sites like Hugging Face, a frequently reused model containing a backdoor could lead to severe supply chain implications. A cutting-edge method developed by our Synaptic Adversarial Intelligence (SAI) team, dubbed ‘ShadowLogic,’ allows adversaries to implant codeless, hidden backdoors into neural network models across any modality. By manipulating the computational graph of the model, attackers can compromise its integrity without detection, persisting the backdoor even when a model is fine tuned.

Integration of AI into High-Impact Technologies: AI models like Google’s Gemini have proven to be susceptible to indirect prompt injection attacks. Under certain conditions, attackers can manipulate these models to produce misleading or harmful responses, and even cause them to call APIs, highlighting the ongoing need for vigilant defense mechanisms.

Traditional Security Vulnerabilities: Common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) in AI infrastructure continue to plague organizations. Attackers often exploit weaknesses in open-source frameworks, making it essential to identify and address these vulnerabilities proactively.

Novel Attack Techniques: While traditional security vulnerabilities still pose a large threat to the AI ecosystem, new attack techniques are a near-daily occurrence. Techniques such as Knowledge Return Oriented Prompting (KROP), developed by HiddenLayer’s SAI team, present a significant challenge to AI safety. These novel methods allow adversaries to bypass conventional safety measures built into large language models (LLMs), opening the door to unintended consequences.

Identifying vulnerabilities before adversaries do

To combat these threats, researchers must stay one step ahead, anticipating the techniques that bad actors may employ—often before those adversaries even recognize potential opportunities for impact. By combining proactive research with innovative, automated tools designed to expose hidden vulnerabilities within AI frameworks, researchers can uncover and disclose new Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs). This responsible approach to vulnerability disclosure not only strengthens individual AI systems but also fortifies the broader industry by raising awareness and establishing baseline protections to combat both known and emerging threats.

Identifying vulnerabilities is only the first step. It’s equally critical to translate academic research into practical, deployable solutions that operate effectively in real-world production settings. This bridge from theory to application is exemplified in projects where HiddenLayer’s SAI team adapted academic insights to tackle actual security risks, underscoring the importance of making research actionable, and ensuring defenses are robust, scalable, and adaptable to evolving threats. By transforming foundational research into operational defenses, the industry not only protects AI systems but also builds resilience and confidence in AI-driven innovation, safeguarding users and organizations alike against a rapidly changing threat landscape. This proactive, layered approach is essential for enabling secure, reliable AI applications that can withstand both current and future adversarial techniques.

Innovating toward safer AI systems

Security around AI systems can no longer be an afterthought; it must be woven into the fabric of AI innovation. As AI technologies advance, so do the methods and motives of attackers. Threat actors are increasingly focused on exploiting weaknesses specific to AI models, from adversarial attacks that manipulate model outputs to data poisoning techniques that degrade model accuracy. To address these risks, the industry is shifting towards embedding security directly into the development and deployment phases of AI, making it an integral part of the AI lifecycle. This proactive approach is fostering safer environments for AI and mitigating risks before they manifest, reducing the likelihood of unexpected disruptions.

Researchers and industry leaders alike are accelerating efforts to identify and counteract evolving vulnerabilities. As AI research migrates from theoretical exploration to practical application, new attack methods are rapidly moving from academic discourse to real-world implementation. Adopting “secure by design” principles is essential to establishing a security-first mindset, which, while not foolproof, elevates the baseline protection for AI systems and the industries that depend on them. As AI revolutionizes sectors from healthcare to finance, embedding robust security measures is vital to supporting sustainable growth and fostering trust in these transformative technologies. Embracing security not as a barrier but as a catalyst for responsible progress will ensure that AI systems are resilient, reliable, and equipped to withstand the dynamic and sophisticated threats they face, paving the way for future advancements that are both innovative and secure.

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