The Prompt Is the New Attachment: Sensitive Data in AI Tools
Abnormal, Tuesday, October 20th, 2026
Abnormal says sensitive data enters AI tools about every nine seconds at a 10,000-person company, citing new breach research.
Abnormal cites Cyberhaven Labs research finding that nearly 40% of AI interactions involve sensitive data, and that a third of employees use AI tools through personal accounts.
At a 10,000-person company, that means sensitive data goes into an AI tool roughly every nine seconds of the workday.
An analysis of IBM's 2026 Cost of a Data Breach Report found shadow AI incidents rose to 43% from 20%, with such breaches averaging $5.39 million.
Abnormal argues prompts are harder to control than attachments and that blocking alone pushes data out of sight.