The security risks of implementing AI

Implementing AI: what’s the risk?

We recently reported about how McDonald’s AI hiring tool’s password ‘123456’ exposed the data of 64M applicants. Not a great day for the fast-food giant, but our readers were lovin’ it. Or at least they read the article in their droves.  

We reported that a security flaw in McHire allowed access to sensitive applicant data via default admin credentials and a vulnerable API. The issue was patched swiftly after disclosure, to everyone’s credit.  

This flaw was not AI related; it was a basic human error. But that didn’t stop our readers from asking Smart Answers about the risks of AI implementation. The truth is, AI accelerates everything — and our chatbot was likely happy to confirm that AI systems require broad data access, which creates new attack vectors and complicates data protection across cloud infrastructures and applications. AI makes things faster and bigger. And that includes threats. 

Find out: What are common security risks when implementing AI? 

Support for software support

Another recent report concerned Siemens getting into hot water after Broadcom acquired VMware and changed licensing terms. We published a well-read piece pointing out lessons that enterprises can learn from Siemens’ VMware licensing dispute.  

It’s a story worth reading, not least because it explains the bafflingly complex issue of software licensing when a merger or acquisition takes place. In this case, the dispute is about ongoing support for software licenses transferred during a company sale. Our readers wanted to understand the broader implications of this specific issue, and asked Smart Answers to source wisdom from our decades of reporting on IT M&A.  

The verdict? It’s complicated and you need to read the small print and anticipate a future state in which a new owner or company takes over responsibility for software licenses. For more detail ask Smart Answers.

Find out: What are the implications of recent court rulings on software support obligations? 

How agentic AI will change the workforce

Agentic AI and digital twins are reshaping enterprise architecture, enabling dynamic, autonomous governance through real-time simulations. Case in point: one of our expert contributors this week posted a piece about rewriting the rules of enterprise architecture with AI agents. 

But how will that affect the human workforce? It’s a big question on the minds of our readers, and the answer is also “big.”

Smart Answers has thoughts, of course, predicting that 15% of daily work decisions will come to be made autonomously. In IT support, agentic AI will automate high-volume, low-value tasks. The advice is to embrace AI and figure out where human intuition, creativity, and strategy can add value. 

Find out: How will agentic AI impact the workforce in the coming years? 

About Smart Answers 

Smart Answers is an AI-based chatbot tool designed to help you discover content, answer questions, and go deep on the topics that matter to you. Each week we send you the three most popular questions asked by our readers, and the answers Smart Answers provides. 

Developed in partnership with Miso.ai, Smart Answers draws only on editorial content from our network of trusted media brands—CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World—and was trained on questions that a savvy enterprise IT audience would ask. The result is a fast, efficient way for you to get more value from our content.