Artificial intelligence (AI) is making software cheaper to build. But the changing cost of deploying software hasn’t brought down the expenses of securing it.

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A Tuesday (Nov. 10) blog post from cybersecurity firm Claroc reported that over 35,000 business applications built using Grok’s AI were accessible without authentication, including tools containing patient information, employee passwords and proprietary corporate records.

The discovery underscores a potential structural risk in the emerging market for AI-generated business software.

Claroc identified internal information belonging to 30 organizations beyond Grok developer SpaceXSI and X, including six Fortune 500 companies. Exposed materials allegedly included a sales territory map covering 594 accounts, an intensive care patient’s medical information and a timesheet application containing plaintext passwords.

The research does not establish that malicious actors exploited the exposed information. But it illustrates how an ordinary publishing decision can turn a productivity tool into a security exposure.

Traditional shadow IT involved employees adopting software outside approved procurement channels. AI app builders introduce a more consequential variation: Employees can now create the software themselves. A sales manager can build a customer dashboard. A healthcare administrator can generate a scheduling application. An operations team can create an internal database without commissioning a development project.

S. had deployed agentic AI in live finance workflows, while an additional 5% were running pilots.

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