Lawyer Urges Businesses to Vet AI Use Cases and Protect Sensitive Data

Summary

Lisa Fitzgerald of Norton Rose Fulbright says public AI use can expose sensitive data and create legal risks. She recommends staff training, Use Case Assessments and privilege-aware handling of cyber incident investigations.

Key points

• Fitzgerald warns that entering confidential or personal information into public AI tools may expose it, transfer it across borders or allow vendor use for training and quality control.
• She says even routine AI-assisted email rewriting could create defamation, intellectual-property, negligence or privacy claims.
• She recommends staff training and Use Case Assessments to review proposed AI uses and the personal, confidential, privileged or proprietary information involved.
• Fitzgerald advises considering legal privilege when structuring advice and digital forensic work during cyber incidents, citing possible regulatory and litigation exposure.
• She describes Australia's “Herald Sun” test: consider whether decisions about cyber risk and data protection would make a good or bad headline.

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