AI Tool Inventory & Risk Review
We map every AI tool in use across your business — including shadow AI — and assess what each one can access, what data it processes, and what risk it introduces.
New Service — AI Security
AI moves fast. Security can't afford to lag behind.
AI tools — from automation platforms to agentic assistants — are transforming how Australian businesses operate. They're also introducing security risks that most businesses haven't had time to think through yet.
You've implemented AI. Now what?
Many Australian businesses have moved quickly to adopt AI tools — productivity assistants, automated workflows, customer-facing chatbots, document processing, and agentic systems that take actions on your behalf. The efficiency gains are real.
What often gets missed in the rush is a clear-eyed look at what these tools can access, what data they process, who controls them, and what happens when something goes wrong. For businesses that handle customer data — which under the Privacy Act now includes most SMBs — these aren't just operational questions. They're compliance questions too.
Agentic AI systems — those that can act autonomously, browse the web, send communications, or interact with your other software — carry a fundamentally different risk profile than passive AI tools. The level of access they require demands a proportionate level of security governance.
Data Exposure
AI tools that process business or customer data may transmit it to third-party systems you don't fully control.
Excessive Access
Agentic systems often require broad permissions — email, calendar, files, APIs — that go far beyond what the task actually needs.
Prompt Injection
Malicious instructions hidden in emails, documents, or web content can hijack agentic AI to take unintended actions.
Supply Chain Risk
Third-party AI providers, plugins, and integrations each extend your attack surface in ways that aren't always visible.
Compliance Gaps
Using AI tools to process personal information creates Privacy Act obligations many businesses haven't mapped yet.
Shadow AI
Staff often adopt AI tools independently — outside IT visibility — creating ungoverned access to business data.
What We Assess & Advise On
Whether you're evaluating AI tools before deployment or reviewing what's already in use, we give you a clear picture of your exposure — and a practical path to managing it.
Agentic AI Security Assessment
Agentic systems that take actions on your behalf — browsing, emailing, executing tasks — require a deeper review of permissions, boundaries, and failure modes. We assess and advise on controls specific to autonomous AI.
Data Boundary & Access Control Review
We review what data your AI tools can reach and help you enforce least-privilege access — ensuring AI systems only interact with what they genuinely need to function.
Privacy Act Alignment for AI
When AI tools process personal information, Privacy Act obligations follow. We map your AI data flows against your compliance requirements and identify what needs to change.
AI Governance Framework
We help you establish clear policies for how AI is used across your business — covering approved tools, acceptable use, data handling, and employee accountability — so AI adoption is deliberate, not ungoverned.
Pre-Implementation Security Review
Evaluating a new AI tool or platform before you deploy it? We review it against your security posture and compliance requirements before it connects to your business — not after.
Our Position on AI
We're not here to slow your AI adoption.
AI genuinely helps businesses work smarter — and we think Australian SMBs should be taking advantage of it. Our role isn't to create friction or generate alarm. It's to make sure that when you implement AI, the security and governance foundations are in place to support it sustainably.
The businesses that get the most from AI over the long term are those that treat security as part of the implementation — not an afterthought that needs to be retrofitted later, at much greater cost and disruption.
"We believe security shouldn't slow innovation — it should enable it."
1
Understand what you have
Map every AI tool across your business — including those adopted without IT oversight — and understand what each can access.
2
Identify and prioritise risk
Assess which tools and workflows carry the most exposure — data handling, agentic access, third-party dependencies — and address the highest-risk items first.
3
Put controls and governance in place
Implement access controls, data boundaries, and usage policies that let AI do its job — within boundaries that protect your business and your customers.
4
Build ongoing visibility
As the AI landscape evolves, we help you maintain visibility and adapt your controls — so your security posture keeps pace with how you're using AI.
Common Questions
Straightforward answers about AI security for Australian business owners.
What is agentic AI and why does it create security risks?
Agentic AI refers to AI systems that can take actions autonomously — browsing the web, sending emails, executing code, or interacting with other software on your behalf. Unlike a passive tool that just answers questions, agentic systems actively reach into your data and processes. That level of access requires proportionate controls — over what the agent can access, what it can do, and how its actions are monitored.
How can AI tools expose my business data?
AI productivity tools — even popular and well-known ones — often require access to emails, documents, calendars, and business systems to function. Without careful configuration, sensitive customer data, financial records, or intellectual property can be processed by third-party AI providers, retained in their systems, or exposed through inadequate data handling. Many businesses aren't aware of the full scope of what their AI tools can see.
Does using AI tools affect my Privacy Act compliance?
Yes. If your AI tools process personal information about customers or employees, your Privacy Act obligations apply — including how that data is handled by third-party AI providers. CXMA can review your AI tool usage against your privacy obligations and help you implement appropriate data governance and contractual protections.
What is prompt injection and should I be concerned?
Prompt injection is an attack where malicious instructions are hidden inside content that your AI system processes — an email, a document, a website. When the AI reads that content, the hidden instruction can cause it to take unintended actions: leaking data, bypassing controls, or sending communications you didn't authorise. For agentic systems that interact with external content, this is a real and growing attack vector.
We've already deployed AI tools. Is it too late?
Not at all — and you're not unusual. Most of the businesses we work with have already adopted AI tools before thinking through the security implications. A retrospective AI security review identifies your current exposure, establishes appropriate controls, and puts governance in place going forward. You don't need to remove the tools; you need to govern them properly.
Implement AI with confidence.
Whether you're yet to deploy AI tools or already using them and want to understand your exposure, we'll start with a straightforward conversation — no obligation, no jargon, no pressure to buy something you don't need.
What You'll Get
- A clear inventory of AI tools in use across your business, including shadow AI
- Plain-language assessment of the risk each tool introduces
- Access control and data boundary recommendations
- Privacy Act alignment review for AI data flows
- A practical governance framework tailored to how your business uses AI