xxx
OpenClaw presents a so-called shadow AI threat that is highly relevant to banks, where employees frequently seek out unsanctioned tools to speed up their workloads.
Security researchers at Bitsight detected OpenClaw instances operating within sensitive industries, including finance, according to a Feb. 9 blog post from the cyber risk management firm. The U.S. currently hosts the largest global concentration of these exposed OpenClaw deployments.
Furthermore, cybersecurity firm Token Security observed OpenClaw or its variants actively running on employee devices in up to 22% of its monitored customer environments, according to a Feb. 11 threat assessment from Kela.
Even if bank security teams have not yet spotted OpenClaw on their specific networks, the broader trend of “shadow AI” — the unauthorized use of artificial intelligence tools by employees — plagues the financial services industry.
Nearly two-thirds, or 65%, of 1,500 surveyed financial services professionals in the U.K., France and Germany said employees use unapproved AI tools to communicate with customers, according to an October report from language AI company DeepL.
The finding is corroborated by a September survey by Cybernews, which indicated nearly 60% of surveyed U.S. employees (across industries) use unapproved AI tools at work, and 75% of those users share potentially sensitive data with the tools.
From: OpenClaw AI creates shadow IT risks for banks | American Banker.
xxx