CISOs are discovering themselves extra concerned in AI groups, typically main the cross-functional effort and AI technique. However there aren’t many sources to information them on what their function ought to appear like or what they need to convey to those conferences.
We have pulled collectively a framework for safety leaders to assist push AI groups and committees additional of their AI adoption—offering them with the required visibility and guardrails to succeed. Meet the CLEAR framework.
If safety groups need to play a pivotal function of their group’s AI journey, they need to undertake the 5 steps of CLEAR to indicate speedy worth to AI committees and management:
- C – Create an AI asset stock
- L – Study what customers are doing
- E – Implement your AI coverage
- A – Apply AI use circumstances
- R – Reuse current frameworks
If you happen to’re searching for an answer to assist make the most of GenAI securely, take a look at Harmonic Safety.
Alright, let’s break down the CLEAR framework.
Create an AI Asset Stock
A foundational requirement throughout regulatory and best-practice frameworks—together with the EU AI Act, ISO 42001, and NIST AI RMF—is sustaining an AI asset stock.
Regardless of its significance, organizations wrestle with guide, unsustainable strategies of monitoring AI instruments.
Safety groups can take six key approaches to enhance AI asset visibility:
- Procurement-Based mostly Monitoring – Efficient for monitoring new AI acquisitions however fails to detect AI options added to current instruments.
- Handbook Log Gathering – Analyzing community visitors and logs may help establish AI-related exercise, although it falls brief for SaaS-based AI.
- Cloud Safety and DLP – Options like CASB and Netskope supply some visibility, however implementing insurance policies stays a problem.
- Identification and OAuth – Reviewing entry logs from suppliers like Okta or Entra may help observe AI software utilization.
- Extending Current Inventories – Classifying AI instruments based mostly on danger ensures alignment with enterprise governance, however adoption strikes rapidly.
- Specialised Tooling – Steady monitoring instruments detect AI utilization, together with private and free accounts, guaranteeing complete oversight. Consists of the likes of Harmonic Safety.
Study: Shift to Proactive Identification of AI Use Instances
Safety groups ought to proactively establish AI purposes that staff are utilizing as an alternative of blocking them outright—customers will discover workarounds in any other case.
By monitoring why staff flip to AI instruments, safety leaders can suggest safer, compliant alternate options that align with organizational insurance policies. This perception is invaluable in AI group discussions.
Second, as soon as you understand how staff are utilizing AI, you may give higher coaching. These coaching applications are going to develop into more and more necessary amid the rollout of the EU AI Act, which mandates that organizations present AI literacy applications:
“Suppliers and deployers of AI techniques shall take measures to make sure, to their finest extent, a enough degree of AI literacy of their workers and different individuals coping with the operation and use of AI techniques…”
Implement an AI Coverage
Most organizations have applied AI insurance policies, but enforcement stays a problem. Many organizations decide to easily difficulty AI insurance policies and hope staff observe the steerage. Whereas this strategy avoids friction, it gives little enforcement or visibility, leaving organizations uncovered to potential safety and compliance dangers.
Sometimes, safety groups take one in all two approaches:
- Safe Browser Controls – Some organizations route AI visitors via a safe browser to watch and handle utilization. This strategy covers most generative AI visitors however has drawbacks—it typically restricts copy-paste performance, driving customers to different units or browsers to bypass controls.
- DLP or CASB Options – Others leverage current Knowledge Loss Prevention (DLP) or Cloud Entry Safety Dealer (CASB) investments to implement AI insurance policies. These options may help observe and regulate AI software utilization, however conventional regex-based strategies typically generate extreme noise. Moreover, website categorization databases used for blocking are ceaselessly outdated, resulting in inconsistent enforcement.
Placing the correct stability between management and value is vital to profitable AI coverage enforcement.
And if you happen to need assistance constructing a GenAI coverage, take a look at our free generator: GenAI Utilization Coverage Generator.
Apply AI Use Instances for Safety
Most of this dialogue is about securing AI, however let’s not neglect that the AI group additionally needs to listen to about cool, impactful AI use circumstances throughout the enterprise. What higher method to present you care concerning the AI journey than to really implement them your self?
AI use circumstances for safety are nonetheless of their infancy, however safety groups are already seeing some advantages for detection and response, DLP, and e mail safety. Documenting these and bringing these use circumstances to AI group conferences might be highly effective – particularly referencing KPIs for productiveness and effectivity positive factors.
Reuse Current Frameworks
As a substitute of reinventing governance buildings, safety groups can combine AI oversight into current frameworks like NIST AI RMF and ISO 42001.
A sensible instance is NIST CSF 2.0, which now consists of the “Govern” operate, masking: Organizational AI danger administration methods Cybersecurity provide chain issues AI-related roles, tasks, and insurance policies Given this expanded scope, NIST CSF 2.0 gives a strong basis for AI safety governance.
Take a Main Function in AI Governance for Your Firm
Safety groups have a novel alternative to take a number one function in AI governance by remembering CLEAR:
- Creating AI asset inventories
- Lincomes consumer behaviors
- Enforcing insurance policies via coaching
- Applying AI use circumstances for safety
- Reusing current frameworks
By following these steps, CISOs can exhibit worth to AI groups and play a vital function of their group’s AI technique.
To be taught extra about overcoming GenAI adoption obstacles, take a look at Harmonic Safety.
