Software development firm Akto has developed and launched a new solution for the financial services industry that should better protect the security of large language models set within AI-embedded applications.
California-based Akto claims its new platform, GenAI Security Testing, is “the world’s first proactive generative artificial intelligence security testing platform” as chief technology officer Ankush Jain stressed the system has been designed to specifically target the security challenges many banks, investors and other big finance players face.
More specifically, “the solution address growing concerns around the vulnerabilities associated with the deployment of AI and related services,” he explained.
Testing model
The feature is able to identify flaws and vulnerabilities in LLMs and its security layers, thereby picking up on attempts, or detected attempts, to link malicious codes for remote access, which often lead to outright hacks.
The system also focuses on cross-site scripting and other potential hacks that may allow the hackers to obtain access or information.
The primary aim is to constantly test the LLMs the financial institution uses in order to confirm whether the models are vulnerable to creating or producing incorrect or irrelevant outputs.
“New threats have emerged due to overreliance on AI outputs.”
– Ankush Jain
Jain pointed out that the solution includes a range of features, including over 60 test cases that cover a range of elements that may confirm system vulnerabilities in the GenAI infrastructure.
Examples include overdependency on specific data sets and prompt injection of untrustworthy data.
“Our generative AI security experts have developed these test cases to ensure protection for financial firms looking to deploy generative AI models,” he stressed.
“The tests try to exploit LLM vulnerabilities through different encoding methods, separators and markers,” he continued.
“This specially detects weak security practices where developers encode the input or put special markers around the input.”
Rush to integrate AI
Jain went on to say that his firm detected a clear appetite for this solution in the wider financial services space as banks, insurers and other firms are rolling out AI and LLMs at unprecedented rate, “driven by a desire for more efficient, automated workflows.”
However, “new threats have emerged, such as unauthorised prompt injections, denial-of-service attacks and data inaccuracies due to overreliance on AI outputs without proper verification,” he said.
“As hackers continue to find more creative ways to exploit LLMs, the need has arisen for security teams to discover a new, automated way to secure LLMs at scale,” Jain concluded.
Akto is a venture-capital back startup that was launched by current CEO Milin Desai (left) in 2022. Among its investors are Accel Partners, Notion Labs’ founder Akshay Kothari and Tenable’s founder Renaud Deraison.
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