Secure AI & Automation / Secure AI
AI without the
security debt.
Your employees are already using AI. The question is whether they are doing it safely, with guardrails you have designed, or unsafely, with your customer data pasted into a free tool that trains on everything it receives. Cliffside helps Australian organisations adopt AI securely: governance frameworks, security testing, ISO 42001 readiness, and architecture that keeps you in control.
What we deliver
Six service areas. One objective: controlled AI adoption.
AI introduces risk categories that traditional cybersecurity programmes were not designed to address. Shadow AI, prompt injection, hallucination, bias, and model supply chain risk require purpose-built governance, testing, and architecture. We deliver all six.
AI acceptable use policies, approved tool registers, data classification for AI inputs and outputs, and governance frameworks that give leadership visibility over how AI is being used across the organisation. Practical, enforceable documentation that survives contact with real teams and real workflows.
Gap analysis, AI Management System design, risk assessment aligned to ISO/IEC 42001, and preparation for Stage 1 and Stage 2 certification audits. We follow the same Harmonised Structure as ISO 27001, so if you already hold 27001 certification, the integration path is straightforward.
Prompt injection testing, jailbreak resistance assessment, hallucination analysis, data leakage testing, and adversarial input evaluation. The same rigour we apply to web application and infrastructure pen testing, adapted for AI-specific attack surfaces that traditional testing does not cover.
Secure AI integration design covering data sanitisation pipelines, guardrail configuration, enterprise platform selection, model access controls, and output validation. We assess how AI fits into your existing security architecture and where it introduces risk your current controls do not address.
Discovery and audit of unapproved AI tool usage across your organisation. We identify where sensitive data is flowing into consumer AI platforms, quantify the exposure, and design an approved AI stack with enterprise-grade alternatives that staff will actually adopt.
A dedicated AI risk register with threat scenarios specific to your AI usage profile: data leakage, hallucination in decision-making, bias in automated processes, third-party model risk, and regulatory non-compliance. Each risk mapped to likelihood, consequence, and a treatment plan your board can interrogate.
What you receive
Evidence your board and your regulator can rely on.
Every engagement produces tangible, transferable artefacts. You own the output. Use it with Cliffside, take it to another provider, or present it directly to your auditor.
Policies, procedures, roles, and controls covering your entire AI lifecycle from adoption through retirement. Aligned to ISO 42001 and your existing ISMS if applicable.
A vetted register of AI platforms approved for use in your environment, with data classification restrictions, acceptable use boundaries, and review schedules for each.
Detailed findings from prompt injection, jailbreak, hallucination, and data leakage testing. Evidence-based, risk-ranked, with remediation guidance your development team can action.
A dedicated AI risk register with threat scenarios specific to your organisation, mapped to business consequences, regulatory obligations, and prioritised treatment plans.
Vendor-neutral design guidance for secure AI integration: data flows, access controls, guardrails, monitoring, and the technical controls required to satisfy your compliance obligations.
A plain-language executive summary that communicates AI risk posture, governance maturity, and recommended next steps in terms your board and your regulator can understand.
How we work
Discover. Assess. Design. Embed.
We do not sell AI governance templates. We build governance that fits your organisation, your risk appetite, and your actual AI usage. The process is the same rigorous, assessment-first methodology we apply to every Cliffside engagement.
We start by mapping what AI is already in your environment, sanctioned and unsanctioned. What tools are in use, what data they touch, who authorised them, and what controls exist. Most organisations are surprised by what the discovery phase reveals.
We evaluate your AI usage against your actual threat landscape, regulatory obligations, and business model. Not a generic AI risk checklist; a calibrated assessment of what matters for your organisation specifically.
Controls calibrated to the risk. An internal document summarisation tool and a customer-facing AI decision engine require fundamentally different governance. We design controls that are proportionate, enforceable, and do not kill the productivity gains AI delivers.
Policies without implementation are shelf-ware. We work with your teams to deploy technical controls, train staff, embed governance into existing workflows, and establish the review cadence that keeps your AI governance current as the technology evolves.
Why Cliffside
We use AI. Every day.
Cliffside is an AI-first consultancy. We use AI tools daily in our own operations: document analysis, threat research, code review, report generation. We have built our own AI governance framework, written our own acceptable use policy, and implemented the same controls we recommend to clients.
That matters because it means our advice comes from operational experience, not theoretical frameworks. We know which controls survive contact with real teams. We know which policies staff actually follow and which become shelf-ware. We know what enterprise AI platforms deliver and where they fall short.
We also hold ISO 27001 certification and our consultants are trained in ISO 42001. When we build your AI governance programme, it integrates with your existing information security management system rather than creating a parallel structure that competes for attention.
Adopt AI with confidence,
not with crossed fingers.
Start with a conversation about where AI sits in your organisation today, where it is heading, and what governance needs to be in place before it gets there.