What are the security risks of ChatGPT? Explaining measures based on actual cases

While the evolution of AI models brings about communication innovation, we also need to be aware of the security risks posed by systems like ChatGPT.

This article unveils the basic functions of ChatGPT and the security issues that come with it, and explains specific measures that companies and individuals can implement on a daily basis , such as the leakage of confidential information, copyright infringement, and the spread of misinformation.

The aim is to deepen readers' understanding of AI security by emphasizing "appropriate measures" for privacy protection, "the importance of software implementation" for strengthening security, and "the need for human checks on the final output content."

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table of contents

What are the security risks of ChatGPT?

Disclosure of confidential information

Risk of spreading misinformation

Possibility of copyright violations

Why ChatGPT causes security accidents

Because input content is used to train the model

2. Examples of misusing training data

ChatGPT Security Measures

Measures that users can take

OpenAI initiatives

summary

What are the security risks of ChatGPT?

As ChatGPT uses increase, security risks are becoming more apparent. These risks appear primarily in the following ways:

Disclosure of confidential information

When users ask or make a request to ChatGPT, they may unconsciously include sensitive information. This includes Personal Identification Information (PII), Trade Secrets, Security Details, and more.
Information once shared on the Internet is often irreparable, and leaking confidential information poses a serious risk to individuals and organizations.

For example, Samsung Electronics in Korea became a major issue when an engineer uploaded internally-confident source code to ChatGPT and accidentally leaked it . This incident has led to Samsung banning the use of "generated AI" tools within its company.

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Risk of spreading misinformation

Since ChatGPT generates responses based on training data, there is a possibility that bias or incorrect information contained in training data may be reflected in the generated text (halcination risk).

Therefore, the information provided by ChatGPT is not entirely reliable and there is a risk of misinformation and misinformation spreading . In particular, if you take ChatGPT's response at face value and share information without verification, it could have serious consequences.

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Possibility of copyright violations

Copyright is a law that grants the creator an exclusive right to the creation of the work (such as literature, music, artworks, etc.). This includes reproduction, distribution, performances, and exhibitions of works.

If ChatGPT generates direct quotations or materially influenced from existing works, the question is whether their use conforms to the "quotation" of copyright law . The purpose of the content is also important. There may be fewer problems for non-commercial purposes, but if used for commercial purposes, there is a possibility that the risk of copyright violations will increase .

Therefore, when using ChatGPT, you should carefully evaluate whether the generated content is infringing existing copyrights.

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Why ChatGPT causes security accidents

There are two main reasons why security risks are concerning with ChatGPT:

• Because input content is used to train the model
• Risk of misuse of learning data

Here we will explain in detail about each one.

Because input content is used to train the model

AI language models, including ChatGPT, allow for natural human-like interactions by learning a huge amount of data.
However, this learning process includes a wide variety of data on the Internet, and may include personal, confidential information, and content that infringes copyright .

Therefore, if a user enters privacy information into ChatGPT, there is a risk that the information will be unintentionally learned into the model and leaked during conversations with another user .

In fact, OpenAI clearly states that when using ChatGPT, it will acquire and use personal information for the following purposes:

• Delivery, management, maintenance and analysis of ChatGPT
• **ChatGPT Improvements and Surveys
• **Communicate with users
• Developing new program services
• Prevent fraud, criminal activity and misuse of ChatGPT and ensure the security of OpenAI's IT systems, architecture and networks
• To transfer business
• Complying with legal obligations and procedures, and protecting the rights, privacy, safety and property of OpenAI and affiliates, users and other third parties;

(Source: OpneAI Privacy Policy)

Below is the personal information that OpenAI automatically obtains through the use of ChatGPT.

item	explanation
Log data	Information sent automatically by your browser or device. This includes your Internet Protocol address, browser type and settings, the date and time of your request, and how you interacted with the Service.
Usage data	Information regarding the type of content you viewed or involved in, the features you used, the actions you took, the time zone, country, access date and time, user agents and versions, computer and mobile device type, and computer connections.
Device information	The device you are using, operating system, device identifier, and the name of the browser you are using. The information collected will vary depending on the type of device used and the settings.
cookie	A small piece of information sent from a website to your browser. Used to operate and manage this service and improve your experience of using it. You can select whether to accept or reject cookies in your browser settings. Refusing cookies may affect your use of the website.
Analysis results	Cookies are used in a variety of online analytics products to analyze usage of the Service and to enhance your experience.

(Source: OpneAI Privacy Policy)

It also states that, except as required by law, personal information may be provided to third parties in certain circumstances without notice to the user.

item	explanation
Vendors and Service Providers	OpenAI provides personal information to vendors and providers who provide the services necessary for their business, allowing them to access information only when they run their business.
Business transfer	User information may be investigated and transferred to successors or affiliates through strategic transactions or organizational restructuring.
Legal Request	If necessary, we may share your information with the government or third parties for purposes such as compliance with the law or preventing fraud. .
Affiliated companies	We may share personal information with OpenAI affiliates and use it in accordance with our privacy policy.
Business Account Administrator	When you join a ChatGPT Enterprise or business account, account administrators may access and manage user information.
Other users or third parties to which you share information with	Users can share information with others through specific functions such as plugins, but the trustworthiness of the person they share is determined at their own risk.

(Source: OpneAI Privacy Policy)

2. Examples of misusing training data

Because ChatGPT has advanced language generation capabilities, malicious users may be able to try and extract information that should not be disclosed by asking skillful questions.

Furthermore, the content generated by ChatGPT may sometimes contain misinformation or bias, which may cause security issues if it spreads.

For example, it could be used to phishing scams, create spam emails, and spread fake news.

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Additionally, a paper "Poisoning Web-Scale Training Datasets is Practical" published by researchers affiliated with Google, ETH Zurich, NVIDIA, and Robust Intelligence, points out the dangers of data poisoning .

Data poisoning refers to "incorporating poison (malicious tampering) into data before it is used in a training data set and attacking the machine learning model that has learned them."

These techniques can be used to exacerbate biases such as racism and sexism, or to embed some backdoor in the model to control the behavior of the model after learning.

ChatGPT Security Measures

A multifaceted approach is required to address the security risks of ChatGPT.

Here we will explain "security measures that users and organizations can implement" and "Efforts to security risks using OpenAI."

Measures that users can take

Here are four specific measures that individuals and organizations can implement to ensure safe use of ChatGPT.

1. Do not inadvertently enter personal information (highly sensitive information)

When interacting with ChatGPT, avoid sharing personally identifiable information (name, address, phone number, email address, etc. ) or highly sensitive information (password bank account information, My Number, etc. ).
It is especially important to anonymize important information or not enter it in the first place.

For example, Group-IB, a Singaporean security company, announced in mid-June 2023 that "over 100,000 ChatGPT accounts are traded on the dark web black market."

The biggest reason your account is stolen is the confidential information entered in ChatGPT .

In addition, LayerX, a Israeli company that provides web browser security tools, surveyed 10,000 users using its tools, and found that 6% of the total have entered sensitive information into ChatGPT, with 4% of the total having entered sensitive information about once a week, and 0.7% have entered multiple times a week.

Percentage of people who have entered confidential information into ChatGPT (Reference: LayerX, USA)

Of course, you should be careful not to enter sensitive information, but it is also important to set it to avoid saving the conversation in case you enter it (opt-out setting).

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➡️What is ChatGPT opt-out? How to set up to prevent input data from being trained

2. Use a secure internet connection

Special care is required when accessing ChatGPT using an uncertain Internet connection, such as public Wi-Fi.
Free Wi-Fi does not encrypt the communication content, which increases the risk of being peeked at social media and emails, or the history of the website you are browsing.

It is important to use a VPN to enhance data encryption and ensure secure connections.

3. Establishing appropriate guidelines

To make effective use of ChatGPT, you need to understand its characteristics and make sure you use it appropriately. ChatGPT is merely a supplementary tool, and ultimately decisions should be made by humans.

You must also be aware of your privacy and be careful not to enter any confidential information. Keep in mind that your interactions with ChatGPT may be made public, and be careful about what you say.

4. Introduction of Data Loss Prevention (DLP) products

DLP helps your organization adhere to data protection policies by monitoring data movement, identifying where data is stored, and controlling data usage.

item	explanation
Protecting confidential information	Prevents unauthorized transmission of confidential data, personal identification information (PII), intellectual property, financial information, etc.
Compliance compliance	Helping you comply with regulatory requirements such as HIPAA (PRIVACY HEALTH INFORMATION), GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), and PCI-DSS (Credit Card Information Security Standards).
Protection from internal threats	Prevention of intentional or accidental data leaks from within. (including employee sharing data in inappropriate ways)
Data visualization and control	Understand the flow of data generated, processed and stored within your organization, and detect unauthorized movement of data

5. Utilizing API (Application Programming Interface)

OpenAI clearly states in its Terms of Use that the content provided through the API or received will not be used for the development of services, etc.

!

The OpenAI API is a programming interface provided by OpenAI that allows you to integrate natural language processing models such as ChatGPT into your own applications and services.

[Related Article] ➡️What is the ChatGPT API? A thorough explanation of what you can do, how to use it, and examples of how to use it!

However, when using ChatGPT via API, it is ultimately important to manage the information users enter into ChatGPT. Measures are necessary such as not including confidential or personal identification information in API requests, or appropriate anonymization if necessary.

OpenAI initiatives

OpenAI is committed to protecting ChatGPT's security and privacy.
We take security measures to properly manage user personal information and prevent unauthorized access and information leakage.

We are also focusing on the formulation of guidelines and research and development in order to introduce mechanisms that detect and filter harmful content and illegal information, as well as to promote the ethical use of AI.

Below are some of the measures OpenAI is implementing to protect security and privacy.

• Data Encryption
  OpenAI encrypts data to prevent data leakage and tampering due to normal access. This includes both data in transit (using SSL/TLS) and stored data.
  
  
• Access Control
  It strictly controls access to ChatGPT through authentication mechanisms that include API keys. This allows only authorized users to access the service.
  
  
• Usage monitoring and limits We monitor API usage to detect unauthorized use and abnormal access patterns. We prevent attacks on the services by setting usage restrictions when necessary.
  
  
• Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  OpenAI offers a privacy policy and terms of use to ensure that users can use the service with confidence.
  This makes it clear what data is collected and how it will be used.
  
  
• Compliance and Audit
  We take measures to comply with data protection regulations such as the GDPR and CCPA, and undergo regular security audits.

In order to tackle the security risks of ChatGPT, it is essential that users, organizations and developers cooperate and take appropriate measures from their respective positions.

Combining technical and human measures to improve the safety and reliability of AI systems will lead to the healthy development of AI language models, including ChatGPT.

summary

Through this article, we hope you have a deeper understanding of the potential security risks pose to ChatGPT and the measures that businesses and individuals should take to address them. ChatGPT is a useful tool, but its use involves several security concerns, including the risk of misinformation spread, the possibility of copyright violations, and the leakage of confidential information.

Ultimately, in order to protect the security and privacy of AI tools such as ChatGPT, each user's awareness and actions are important. OpenAI is also continuing its efforts to protect security and privacy, but users themselves should be aware of the risks and take appropriate measures to make safe and effective use of ChatGPT.

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