Protection against AI threats
What are the potential threats and risks associated with the use of public AI models, and what are the options for addressing them.
Market Situation
AI-driven threats are rapidly increasing as adoption of generative AI, APIs and autonomous agents expands. Attack surfaces now include prompts, model outputs and data pipelines. Key challenges include sensitive data leakage, prompt injection, model manipulation, shadow AI usage and API-based exfiltration. Organizations struggle with limited visibility, inconsistent governance and evolving attack techniques. Regulatory pressure (e.g., GDPR, NIS 2, EU AI Act) adds complexity, while balancing innovation, security and compliance remains a critical difficulty.
Possible Solution
Posiible solution should provide end-to-end security across the AI lifecycle - protecting inputs, models, data, agents, APIs and outputs using a combination of detection, prevention and policy enforcement.
Among other things, the Nex Firewall solution cover the following areas:
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Data protection & privacy control - Detect, classify, and protect sensitive data using masking, anonymization or blocking before it reaches AI systems.
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Input/output security controls - Inspect prompts and responses to prevent prompt injection, harmful content and unintended data exposure.
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Access & usage governance - Enforce policies on who can use AI, which tools are allowed and how data can be shared.
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Secure integration layer - Control and monitor API traffic to prevent unauthorized access and data exfiltration.
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Monitoring, auditing & compliance - Provide visibility, logging, and reporting to detect threats and meet regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, NIS 2, EU AI Act).
Key Features
An Nex Firewall provides a control layer for safe use of public AI models by inspecting and securing all interactions. It protects sensitive data through detection and masking, blocks prompt injection and unsafe outputs, enforces access policies and monitors API traffic. It also delivers auditability and compliance support by providing following functionalities.
AI-driven data detection & classification
Automatically identifies PII, secrets, IP and regulated data in prompts, files and API traffic so it can be controlled before exposure.
Mitigates risks:
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Sensitive data leakage
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Compliance violations
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API exfiltration
Real-time masking, redaction & tokenization
Replaces or removes sensitive fields before data is sent to or returned from AI models, preserving usability while protecting content.
Mitigates risks:
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Sensitive data leakage
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Model output leakage
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API exfiltration
Prompt injection detection & protection
Filters malicious instructions, isolates untrusted content and prevents attempts to override system rules or extract hidden data.
Mitigates risks:
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Prompt injection attacks
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Data exfiltration
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Policy bypass
Output validation & filtering
Scans AI responses for sensitive or disallowed content before delivery, blocking or sanitizing unsafe outputs.
Mitigates risks:
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Model output leakage
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Compliance violations
Policy-based access control
Enforces who can use which AI tools, with what data and under what conditions based on role, context and risk level.
Mitigates risks:
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Shadow AI usage
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Compliance violations
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Data leakage
Secure API gateway & traffic inspection
Routes all AI API traffic through a controlled layer that inspects payloads, enforces rules and blocks unauthorized endpoints.
Mitigates risks:
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Data exfiltration via APIs
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Shadow AI usage
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Sensitive data leakage
Anomaly detection & behavioral analytics
Detects unusual patterns (e.g., bulk queries, unusual prompts, abnormal data flows) that indicate attacks or misuse.
Mitigates risks:
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Data exfiltration
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Shadow AI usage
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Prompt injection
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Model abuse
Context isolation & memory protection
Separates system prompts, user data and external inputs to prevent unintended data mixing or exposure.
Mitigates risks:
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Model output leakage
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Cross-tenant data leakage
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Compliance violations
Tool & agent control
Restricts what autonomous AI agents can access or execute, limiting cascading or unsafe actions.
Mitigates risks:
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Agent misuse
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Data exfiltration
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Prompt injection
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Unauthorized actions
Shadow AI discovery & usage monitoring
Identifies unsanctioned AI tools and usage patterns across the organization for governance and control.
Mitigates risks:
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Shadow AI usage
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Compliance violations
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Data leakage
Encryption & secure communication enforcement
Ensures all AI traffic is encrypted and sent only to trusted, validated endpoints.
Mitigates risks:
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Data exfiltration
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API interception
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Compliance violations
Audit logging & compliance reporting
Records all AI interactions for auditing, regulatory reporting and forensic analysis.
Mitigates risks:
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Compliance violations
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Lack of traceability
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Incident investigation gaps
Data residency & regulatory enforcement
Ensures data is processed only in approved jurisdictions and compliant AI environments.
Mitigates risks:
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Compliance violations
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Cross-border data breaches
Contact offices
London (UK)
Easthampstead Road
Wokingham
RG40 3AE Berkshire
+44 (7887) 505 116
Prague (CZ)
Freyova 1/12
Areal Pivovar offices
190 00 Prague
+420 (730) 561 700
Vienna (A)
Scheydgasse 41
A-1210 Vienna
+43 (660) 400 1409
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