AI Security Assessments: What to Test and How

As AI and LLMs move into production, security assessments need to cover new attack surfaces that traditional application and infrastructure testing don’t fully address. Prompt injection, data leakage through context or training, misuse of tools and agents, and model abuse are real risks. Here’s what we test and how we structure an AI security assessment.

Scope of an AI Security Assessment

We look at the full pipeline: prompts and system prompts, user inputs and model outputs, guardrails and filters, data handling (what goes into context, what’s stored, what’s logged), and integration with other systems (APIs, tools, agents). The goal is to find ways an attacker could extract data, bypass controls, or misuse the system—whether via prompt injection, privilege escalation through tool use, or abuse of delegated access. We also assess identity and access for AI services (who can call the model, who can manage prompts and config) and whether logging and monitoring would detect abuse.

Testing Techniques

We use prompt injection and jailbreak-style tests to try to override instructions, extract system prompts, or force unintended tool calls. We test output filtering and PII leakage—can the model be made to return data it shouldn’t? We probe tool-calling and agent capabilities: can an attacker chain tools to escalate access or exfiltrate data? We check whether guardrails (input/output validation, blocklists) can be bypassed and whether the system fails safely. Findings are documented with severity and remediation guidance, and we map them to emerging AI security guidance (e.g., OWASP for LLMs, NIST AI RMF) so you can track and report in a structured way.

Aligning to Frameworks

AI security standards are still evolving, but frameworks like NIST’s AI RMF and OWASP’s work on LLM applications provide categories and controls you can align to. We map assessment findings to these where applicable so you can demonstrate due diligence to customers, auditors, and leadership. Need an AI security assessment? Contact us.