Streamline Security and Compliance Assessments with AI for GRC

The adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is growing rapidly across industries, promising tremendous benefits in efficiency, scalability, and accuracy. While these advantages are undeniable, the rise of AI also brings increasing concerns from a cybersecurity, compliance, and data protection perspective. Organizations are grappling with how to leverage AI’s power while mitigating the inherent risks to sensitive information and maintaining regulatory compliance. This is particularly true within Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) platforms, where AI offers the potential to revolutionize how assessments are conducted.

To achieve and maintain certifications with security frameworks like PCI DSS, ISO 27001, SOC 2, and more, security and compliance assessments play a major role in your efforts. The same can be said for demonstrating compliance with NIST CSF, HIPAA, GDPR, etc. These assessments can be a heavy lift, which is why organizations should explore how they can streamline security and compliance assessments with AI for GRC.

In this article, we’ll explain what assessment-related tasks can be done with AI, the benefits AI can offer, and how to manage some of the risks posed.

Tasks that can be Done with AI

AI can revolutionize various aspects of security and compliance assessments, including:

• Document Completion: AI can automate the population of standard forms and templates, significantly reducing manual effort.
• Evidence Gathering: AI can assist in collecting and organizing evidence from various sources, such as logs, system configurations, and vulnerability scan results.
• Reporting: AI can generate comprehensive reports summarizing assessment findings, identifying areas of non-compliance, and tracking remediation efforts.
• Policy and Procedure Development: AI can create initial drafts of policies and procedures based on industry best practices and regulatory requirements, which can then be reviewed and refined by human experts.
• Compliance Monitoring: AI can continuously monitor systems and controls to ensure ongoing compliance and alert organizations to potential issues.
• Predictive Analytics: AI can analyze historical data to identify trends and predict potential compliance gaps, allowing organizations to proactively address them.
• Addressing Overlaps in Multiple Frameworks: AI can map controls across different frameworks, identifying common requirements and streamlining assessment efforts.
• Vulnerability Management: AI can analyze vulnerability scan data, prioritize vulnerabilities based on risk, and recommend remediation steps.
• Security Awareness Training: AI-powered platforms can personalize security awareness training based on individual user behavior and risk profiles.

For tasks like policy and procedure development, AI should be used as a starting point. Human review and editing are essential to ensure accuracy, context, and a human touch.

Benefits of Using AI for Assessments

The adoption of AI in security and compliance assessments offers numerous advantages:

• Increased Efficiency: Automation frees up valuable time and resources, allowing security professionals to focus on strategic initiatives.
• Enhanced Scalability: AI can handle large volumes of data and adapt to evolving compliance requirements as organizations grow.
• Improved Accuracy: While data quality is crucial, AI can reduce human error and improve the consistency of assessment results.
• Greater Consistency: AI ensures that assessments are conducted consistently across different systems and time periods.
• Proactive Risk Management: Predictive analytics empowers organizations to identify and address potential compliance gaps before they become major issues.
• Cost Savings: By automating tasks and reducing manual effort, AI can lead to significant cost savings.
• Competitive Advantage: Organizations that leverage AI for security and compliance gain a competitive edge by demonstrating a proactive and efficient approach to risk management.

Early adoption of AI in security programs positions organizations to capitalize on the technology’s rapid advancements and seamlessly integrate it into their workflows.

Managing the Risks

While AI offers substantial benefits, it’s essential to acknowledge and manage the potential risks:

• Data Ownership and Privacy: Organizations must carefully consider data ownership and privacy implications, especially when using customer data to train AI systems.
• Ethical Concerns: Ethical considerations surrounding AI usage, such as bias and fairness, must be addressed.
• Output Accuracy: The accuracy of AI-generated outputs depends heavily on the quality of input data. Robust data validation processes are essential.
• Legal and Regulatory Compliance: The evolving legal landscape surrounding AI, particularly regarding data ownership and copyright, requires careful monitoring and adaptation. The legal ramifications of using AI-generated content, especially in regulated industries, must be thoroughly understood. In February 2025, a federal court in Delaware ruled in favor of a plaintiff who sued when their copyrighted data was used by another party to train an AI-drive legal research engine. Organizations must keep track of how the AI legal landscape evolves and be ready to adapt as necessary.
• Security of AI Systems: AI systems themselves can be vulnerable to attacks. Organizations must implement appropriate security measures to protect these systems.
• Lack of Human Oversight: Over-reliance on AI without adequate human oversight can lead to errors and misinterpretations.

To mitigate these risks, organizations should:

• Establish Clear Guidelines: Define clear policies and procedures for AI usage, including data governance, ethical considerations, and acceptable use.
• Ensure Data Quality: Implement robust data validation processes to ensure the accuracy and reliability of input data.
• Review AI-Generated Materials: Always have human experts review and validate AI-generated outputs before they are used for decision-making.
• Monitor Legal and Regulatory Developments: Stay informed about the evolving legal landscape surrounding AI and adapt policies and procedures accordingly.
• Implement Security Measures: Protect AI systems from unauthorized access and cyberattacks.
• Maintain Human Oversight: Ensure that human experts are involved in all stages of the AI-driven assessment process.

AI offers significant benefits for security and compliance assessments, including increased efficiency and productivity through automation, allowing security professionals to focus on strategic initiatives. It also enhances scalability, enabling organizations to handle growing data volumes and adapt to evolving compliance requirements. AI improves accuracy and consistency in assessments, reducing human error and ensuring compliance across different systems and time periods. By leveraging AI’s predictive capabilities, organizations can proactively manage risks and address potential compliance gaps before they escalate. This can lead to cost savings by reducing manual effort and minimizing errors. Furthermore, adopting AI for security and compliance can provide a competitive advantage, demonstrating a proactive and efficient approach to risk management.

However, organizations need to be mindful of the risks associated with AI. This includes data ownership and privacy concerns, ethical considerations related to bias and fairness, the potential for inaccurate outputs, the evolving legal and regulatory landscape, security risks to AI systems, and the importance of maintaining human oversight.

To mitigate these risks, organizations should adopt a comprehensive risk management approach. This involves establishing clear guidelines for AI usage, ensuring data quality, maintaining human oversight, monitoring legal developments, implementing security measures to protect AI systems, and promoting responsible AI use by addressing ethical considerations and ensuring transparency.

By carefully considering both the benefits and risks, and implementing appropriate risk management strategies, organizations can confidently leverage the power of AI to streamline their security and compliance assessments while maintaining the highest standards of data protection and ethical conduct.

Learn more by watching our Using AI in Security and Compliance Assessments podcast episode. A transcript of the episode is also available.

CompliancePoint has helped organizations of all sizes and across multiple industries achieve and maintain certification with frameworks that meet their needs. Contact us at connect@compliancepoint.com to learn more about how our services can help your organization.