Tech Tips from our LSPs: Privacy & Security with AI

Be mindful of privacy and security when using AI

This Tech Tip is part of a series on Generative AI.  Stay tuned for more tips!

When using AI tools, protecting privacy and maintaining security must always come first. Even seemingly small details can put personal or institutional information at risk if shared in the wrong place.

UVA staff can use an approved, licensed version of Microsoft’s CoPilot. All info about Microsoft CoPilot at UVA and a form to submit a request for a license can be found here

Keep in mind:

• Do not share personal identifiers. Names, Social Security numbers, employee/student IDs, addresses, and financial account numbers should never be entered into AI tools.
• Protect institutional data. Research data, proprietary business information, and anything covered under FERPA, HIPAA, or other regulations is off-limits.
• Assume the tool is public. Even if a platform claims not to store your inputs, treat every interaction as though it could be seen by others.
• Use UVA-approved tools. When available, stick to versions of AI platforms that have been reviewed and approved for University use.

Examples:

• Don’t paste an internal spreadsheet with names and salaries into an AI tool for “help making a chart.”
• Do ask the AI to show you how to build the chart, then apply those steps to your data securely within Excel.

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See our previous tips: Safely Using Gen-AI at UVA / Data Do's and Don'ts for AI

Read more:  https://genai.provost.virginia.edu/guidance-for-faculty-students A