AI Assistants Could Be Leaking Your Business Secrets Without You Knowing

As businesses adopt AI agents to automate tasks and connect to internal systems, many are unknowingly introducing a new security risk through something called MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers. These servers act as a bridge, allowing AI tools to access company data and applications. However, security researchers warn that MCP servers are frequently set up with plaintext configuration files, meaning sensitive information like passwords and access keys can be stored in a readable, unprotected format.

Compounding the problem, these servers are often granted more access than they actually need, and they can be vulnerable to 'prompt injection' — a technique where malicious instructions hidden in data trick the AI into performing unintended actions, such as leaking secrets or accessing restricted systems. Most concerning is that these servers can be running within an organisation's network without the security team's knowledge, creating a blind spot that attackers could exploit before anyone notices.

For small and medium businesses experimenting with AI tools and integrations, this is a timely warning. As AI adoption grows, so does the attack surface, and new AI-related infrastructure needs the same scrutiny as any other system with access to sensitive data.