Adopting an AI tool adds another system that holds your data and connects to your firm. That is another door, and cyber security is about making sure each door is locked. The discipline is familiar, applied to one more place.
Treat it like any other supplier
Check how the provider secures data, whether it encrypts information in transit and at rest, how it handles access, and what happens in a breach. A provider that cannot answer plainly is telling you something.
Protect the way in
Use strong, unique credentials and multi-factor authentication on every AI tool, the same as you would for your case management system. Many breaches are not clever attacks but a reused password on a tool nobody was watching.
Limit what it can reach
Give each tool only the access it needs, and review who in the firm can use it. The fewer people and the less data exposed, the smaller the damage if something goes wrong. Keep a record so you can act quickly if a tool is compromised.
AI tools are safe to adopt when the firm treats them with the same security basics it applies to everything else that holds client data.
The NCSC's small business guide covers the fundamentals in an afternoon.
If nobody has walked your doors since the last tool arrived, a short review locks them while the list is still short: start with a conversation.