Majority of UK staff know nothing about privacy issues when using AI for work

The majority (95 per cent) of people in the UK know nothing about privacy issues when using AI for work. The UK has fallen to fifth place globally in terms of cybersecurity and internet privacy knowledge according to new research by the cybersecurity company NordVPN, a global survey aimed to evaluate people’s cybersecurity, online privacy awareness.

The research found that the UK excelled at dealing with suspicious streaming service offers as well as creating strong passwords (96 per cent), but staff struggled to identify the privacy issues of using AI at work (5 per cent).

While AI can be helpful for employees in their work, its use comes with risks. Popular chatbots such as ChatGPT use an open network which can pose a privacy risk, especially if they are sharing commercially sensitive information. Chatbots also generate responses based on available online information and this means there is also a risk of plagiarism and inaccuracies, especially if employees do not do their due diligence to verify information.

The results of the test showed that UK workers are good at dealing with suspicious streaming service offers as well as creating strong passwords (96 per cent each), know which permissions should be granted to different apps (94 per cent) and how devices might get infected with malware (93 per cent), or which sensitive data to avoid sharing on social media (91 per cent).

However, only 5 per cent of are knowledgeable about what privacy issues to consider when using AI for work, and only 13 per cent know what data ISPs collect as part of the metadata.

Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer (CTO) at NordVPN, comments: “As the digital threat landscape evolves faster than ever, it is important that internet users understand the significance of safeguarding their personal information.

“The National Privacy Test takes the responsibility to educate people globally about cyber threats and equip them with essential tips to protect against fraud, data harvesting, surveillance, and other online dangers.”