Consulting Firm Leads the Way in Generative AI Projects

A global consulting leader, providing services across more than 40 industries, has always been at the forefront of leveraging cutting-edge technology to help clients transform their operations. As a trusted advisor in areas like digital transformation, cybersecurity, and cloud computing, the firm has built a strong reputation for driving innovation at scale. With over 700,000 professionals operating in more than 120 countries, the company helps businesses stay competitive and agile in today’s fast-paced digital landscape.

As the demand for artificial intelligence (AI) surged, particularly with the rise of generative AI, the consulting firm saw a massive opportunity to help clients integrate AI into their operations. However, with this opportunity came significant risks, especially in terms of security and governance. While businesses were eager to adopt AI technologies, many lacked the necessary safeguards to protect sensitive data and ensure that AI models were being used appropriately. The firm recognized the need to establish security guardrails that would enable innovation without exposing organizations to the dangers of AI misuse or breaches.

The rapid growth of AI adoption, particularly generative AI, posed a unique challenge. Many enterprises were experimenting with AI models without fully understanding the security implications. As AI begins to play a more prominent role in corporate environments, the risks of data leakage, model manipulation, and adversarial attacks increase dramatically. Security teams are often outpaced by AI developments, struggling to keep up with the rate at which models are being deployed and experimented with.

The traditional approach of blocking AI projects to mitigate risks was no longer a viable option. For businesses looking to stay ahead of the competition, AI innovation was essential, and any attempts to hinder these projects would leave them at a disadvantage. The challenge for the consulting firm was to find a way to enable AI innovation while ensuring that adequate security measures were in place. This meant creating a governance structure that would give businesses the confidence to explore AI without compromising their security.

Recognizing the need for a more robust AI security framework, the consulting firm turned to AppSOC for help. AppSOC’s comprehensive platform offered the perfect solution to the unique challenges posed by AI. It provided the visibility and control that organizations needed to secure their AI initiatives, without stifling innovation.

One of the key features that made AppSOC an ideal fit was its ability to integrate seamlessly with the platforms that businesses use to develop and deploy AI models, such as Databricks, Azure OpenAI, AWS SageMaker, and AWS Bedrock. This allowed the consulting firm to offer immediate visibility into the security posture of any platform used in AI development. AppSOC’s integration with these platforms enabled it to discover AI models that were being experimented with in real-time, even in shadow AI environments where models were deployed without formal security oversight.

In addition to providing visibility, AppSOC supported the consulting firm’s enterprise projects by offering a range of critical services, including shadow AI discovery, building AI use-case repositories, and ensuring system hardening with misconfiguration checks. These features helped the consulting firm to secure their clients’ AI pipelines and prevent common vulnerabilities such as data leaks or inappropriate model usage.

AppSOC also provided inline scanning of prompts and responses within generative AI systems to ensure that no sensitive data was inadvertently leaked or misused during AI interactions. By establishing AI supply chain integrity, AppSOC enabled the consulting firm to ensure that their clients’ AI models were built and deployed in a secure and controlled environment.

The consulting firm selected AppSOC for its AI security projects because of its unique ability to combine risk-based prioritization with automated workflows, ensuring that AI vulnerabilities were identified and mitigated before they could cause significant harm. AppSOC’s platform went beyond standard security measures by addressing vulnerabilities that were specific to AI models, such as data poisoning and adversarial attacks, which are becoming more prevalent as AI adoption grows.

AppSOC’s continuous monitoring and threat detection capabilities provided the consulting firm with the ability to maintain compliance with evolving security standards and governance requirements. The platform's ability to enrich security findings with business context was particularly valuable, as it allowed the firm to prioritize security efforts based on the real-world impact of potential AI vulnerabilities.

One of the most important aspects of AppSOC’s platform was its flexibility. The consulting firm was able to leverage AppSOC’s tools to create custom AI governance structures tailored to the unique needs of each client. This meant that rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach to AI security, the firm could implement tailored solutions that addressed specific risks while allowing for continued AI innovation.

Real-World Benefits

The consulting firm’s clients saw immediate benefits from AppSOC’s AI security and governance capabilities. By reducing the risk of AI-related security incidents, businesses were able to move forward with their AI initiatives with greater confidence. AppSOC’s inline scanning features helped prevent sensitive data from being leaked through AI interactions, while its shadow AI discovery tools ensured that no models were being deployed without proper oversight.

AppSOC also helped the consulting firm to reduce the complexity of managing AI security. By providing a single platform that integrated with all major AI development environments, the firm was able to consolidate security efforts and reduce the number of tools needed to manage AI risks. This not only made it easier for the security teams to stay on top of potential threats but also reduced the operational overhead associated with managing multiple security systems.