Where does the risk really lie?
Three places, in order of how often I come across them.
Access too spacious. The integration receives an account with administrator rights because that works fastest. From that moment on, anyone who can query the AI can access everything, including salary data and customer contracts that it is normally not allowed to access.
No logging. No one can see afterwards which data was requested. That is not only a security problem but also an accountability problem as soon as someone asks for it.
Data that ends up elsewhere. An employee pastes a customer file into a free AI tool because it is faster. This happens more often than the connection you have carefully set up. Proper access via official channels is therefore also a security measure.
What does user-level access mean?
This is the most important choice in the entire interior design.
With user-level access, the AI operates with the rights of the person requesting the information. If an employee is not authorized to view a specific file, they will not be granted access via the AI either. Your system's existing rights structure remains in effect.
The alternative is a technical account with its own permissions. That is easier to set up and almost always the wrong choice, because your permission structure wraps around it in one go.
In the setups I do, this is non-negotiable. It takes a bit more work to set up and saves you the conversation that follows when someone sees information that was not intended for them.
| Ask | Short answer | Floor |
|---|---|---|
| Where does the risk really lie? | Three places, in order of how often I come across them. | Read more |
| What does user-level access mean? | This is the most important choice in the entire interior design. | Read more |
| How does OAuth work here? | OAuth is the method by which the connection gains access without a password being stored anywhere. | Read more |
| What questions do you ask your supplier? | Five questions that give you answers without you needing to be technical. | Read more |
| What do you need to arrange yourself? | A supplier can set up the technology properly. | Read more |
How does OAuth work here?
OAuth is the method by which the connection gains access without a password being stored anywhere.
Instead of login credentials, the connection receives a token with a defined scope: which systems, which actions, and how long it is valid. That token can be revoked without having to change a password.
Pay attention to the scopes during setup. That is where you determine what the connection is allowed to do, and where settings are often too broad in a rush.
What questions do you ask your supplier?
Five questions that give you answers without you needing to be technical.
- Does the connection work with user rights or with a custom account?
- Which systems and actions are exactly open, and can I see that?
- Is my data used to train models?
- Where is the data processed and stored?
- Can I see afterwards what has been requested and changed?
A concrete answer is required for all five. "That is fine" is not an answer.
What do you need to arrange yourself?
A supplier can set up the technology properly. What you need to do yourself: determine which data is eligible in the first place, specify who is allowed to use the connection, and agree on what happens with exceptions.
The latter is most often forgotten.
Where do you start?
If you already have a connection running, first check which account it is working with. This can be seen in five minutes, and it is the question that reveals the most.
Sources and product information
- Zoho Security FAQ, official product information
- Anthropic Privacy Center, official product information