Artificial intelligence is opening new possibilities for communications providers, from streamlining operations and improving decision-making to delivering faster, more personalized customer experiences.
But as AI becomes more capable, the security conversation is changing.
It’s no longer just about protecting systems and data from unauthorized access. It’s also about understanding what AI can access, what it can do with that information, and how to maintain control as increasingly intelligent technologies become part of everyday business operations.
For communications providers, where customer information, billing, payments, service activation, and operational systems are deeply interconnected, those questions carry significant weight.
The opportunity is to embrace AI innovation without introducing unnecessary risk. Achieving that balance requires a fresh look at how security is designed, implemented, and governed.
AI Is Changing The Attack Surface … And The Security Equation
Every new technology introduces potential vulnerabilities. What makes AI different is the breadth of information it can access and, increasingly, the actions it can perform.
Consider an AI assistant designed to help a customer service representative. It might retrieve account information, review billing history, identify service issues, and recommend next steps. Each capability can improve efficiency and the customer experience.
But each connection also introduces considerations around access, data exposure, and control.
And as AI evolves from answering questions and generating recommendations to executing tasks across business systems, the consequences of excessive permissions or unintended behavior become more significant.
As Avi Dasgupta, Chief Technology Officer at IDI Billing Solutions, explains:
“What AI does is it changes both the attack surface and how we design a solution.”
That distinction is critical. AI doesn’t simply introduce another set of potential security threats. It changes how organizations need to think about designing secure technology in the first place.
For communications providers, that means looking beyond whether an AI capability delivers value and examining how it interacts with critical BSS/OSS processes, what information it can access, and what safeguards govern its behavior.
The objective isn’t to slow innovation. It’s to ensure that new capabilities don’t create risks that outweigh their benefits.
Access, Exposure, & Scope: Three Questions Every Organization Should Ask
One of the most important principles in AI security is also one of the most established in cybersecurity: just because a system can access information doesn’t mean it should.
AI-powered tools can draw information from multiple sources, interpret context, and generate responses or initiate actions. That flexibility is a major part of their value, but it also makes clearly defined boundaries essential.
Before introducing AI into business operations, organizations should evaluate three fundamental areas:
- Access: What systems, applications, and data can the AI capability access? Are permissions restricted to what is necessary for its intended function?
- Exposure: Where does information travel, how is it processed, and what protections prevent sensitive customer or business data from being disclosed or used inappropriately?
- Scope: What is the AI system authorized to do? Which activities can it perform independently, and which require human review or additional approval?
These questions become particularly important when AI is connected to systems managing customer financial information, account records, network services, and other sensitive operational data.
For example, an AI tool that helps identify billing discrepancies may need permission to analyze transaction records. That doesn’t necessarily mean it should have the authority to modify account balances or initiate financial adjustments.
The distinction between accessing information and acting on it matters.
Applying the principle of least privilege helps organizations establish those boundaries, ensuring AI systems receive only the permissions necessary to perform their intended responsibilities.
As Avi emphasizes, these are questions organizations need to address before deploying AI, not after capabilities are already embedded in critical business processes.
Security By Design Becomes Even More Important
Traditional cybersecurity practices remain essential in an AI-enabled environment. But they aren’t sufficient on their own.
AI introduces additional considerations because these systems can interpret natural language, process information from multiple sources, and produce outputs that aren’t always entirely predictable.
For example, malicious instructions embedded in content an AI system encounters, commonly referred to as prompt injection, can potentially influence its behavior. Poorly defined permissions can allow an AI agent to perform actions beyond its intended responsibilities. And insufficient controls can lead to the unintended disclosure of sensitive information.
These risks reinforce the importance of building security into AI solutions from the beginning rather than treating it as a final checkpoint before deployment.
A security-by-design approach requires organizations to consider how AI capabilities are architected, what safeguards govern their behavior, and how those protections are tested and maintained over time.
That includes clearly defined access controls, appropriate human oversight, validation of AI-generated outputs, monitoring, and safeguards that prevent unauthorized actions.
It also means being deliberate about where AI is used in the first place.
At IDI, this perspective is helping guide how we evaluate and incorporate emerging AI capabilities into our platform.
Avi points to the importance of invoking AI models for specific scenarios where they provide meaningful value, rather than applying AI indiscriminately to processes that can be handled effectively through established technology.
This targeted approach can help reduce unnecessary exposure, maintain more predictable system behavior, and manage operating costs.
The underlying philosophy is straightforward: Use AI where it creates meaningful value, and design the appropriate safeguards around that purpose.
AI Governance Is Becoming A Business Priority
Technical safeguards are essential, but effective AI risk management also requires organizational accountability.
As AI adoption expands, companies need clear policies governing which tools employees can use, what information can be shared, how AI-generated outputs should be validated, and when human review is necessary.
These policies also need to extend to technology partners and third-party providers.
The NIST AI Risk Management Framework provides guidance for incorporating trustworthiness and risk management into the design, development, deployment, and ongoing evaluation of AI systems.
For communications providers, strong AI governance should complement existing security and compliance practices while accounting for the unique risks introduced by increasingly autonomous technologies.
It also requires collaboration across the business. Security, technology, operations, and leadership teams need a shared understanding of where AI is being deployed, what value it’s expected to deliver, and how associated risks will be managed.
Importantly, governance can’t remain static. As AI capabilities and potential threats evolve, organizations must continuously reassess their controls, monitor performance, and adapt their approach.
Building A Secure Foundation For AI Innovation
AI will continue to reshape how communications providers operate, serve customers, and compete. The organizations best positioned to benefit will be those that approach adoption with a clear understanding of both its opportunities and its risks.
That starts with treating security as an essential part of innovation.
At IDI, this approach reflects a commitment we’ve maintained throughout 30 years of supporting communications providers: helping our customers evolve with changing technology while maintaining the reliability and trust essential to their operations.
As we continue exploring opportunities to bring AI-enabled capabilities into the IDI Platform, our focus remains on delivering meaningful business value through thoughtful, responsible innovation.
Because the goal isn’t simply to make technology more intelligent. It’s to make it more valuable, secure, and dependable.
Is your technology environment ready to support AI innovation securely and responsibly?
Learn how IDI helps communications providers build a secure, scalable foundation for what’s next. Call 800.208.6151 or contact us here.