Artificial intelligence is gradually moving from the role of a simple assistant to the role of a “digital partner.” A chatbot can now read emails, identify pending issues, compose responses, and organize information. But what happens when it gains access to an employee’s corporate email?
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The first issue is access to data. A corporate inbox can contain contracts, financials, customer personal data, internal discussions, and information about future plans. If an AI tool gains access to this content, it essentially gains access to a significant piece of corporate information.
The risk doesn’t necessarily lie in the chatbot itself. It can come from the way its connection to email is designed. An overly broad set of permissions, for example, can allow an AI system to perform actions that the employee didn’t intend for it to perform.
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There's also prompt injection. A malicious message in an inbox could contain instructions designed to mislead an AI agent. If the system doesn't properly separate the data it needs to read from the commands it needs to follow, a simple email can become a potential attack surface.
The issue becomes even more complex when AI is not limited to reading, but can send emails, create files, or communicate with other corporate systems. In this case, a mistake or malicious command can lead from a simple information leak to real action.
The solution is not necessarily to ban AI. It is to implement strict access rights, limit the actions an agent can perform, and require human approval before critical actions.
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Corporate email has always been a major target for cybercriminals. But with the advent of AI agents, it takes on a new dimension: we no longer just need to protect our inbox from humans. We also need to control what we allow machines to do in it.
