AI
A vendor's marketing page saying "enterprise-grade security" is not evidence — it's a claim. Real vetting means asking for the specific documents that back the claim and actually reading them, not just confirming they exist. For an AI vendor specifically, standard vendor security review needs a few AI-specific additions that a generic IT vendor checklist won't catch.
What to actually request and check
1. Request the SOC 2 Type II report (or ISO 27001 certificate) and check its scope. Confirm the report covers the actual product/service you'll use — a SOC 2 report scoped to a different product line at the same company doesn't tell you much about the one you're buying.
2. Get the Data Processing Agreement and read the sub-processor list. The DPA should specify what data categories are processed, where data is stored/transferred, breach notification timelines, and — critically — a list of sub-processors (other companies, like cloud hosts, who will also touch your data).
3. Ask AI-specific questions a generic vendor questionnaire misses. Does the vendor train models on your submitted prompts/data? Do they conduct and document red-teaming or adversarial testing? What controls exist against prompt injection or cross-customer data leakage?
# Minimum document request list for an AI vendor security review
Standard vendor documents:
[ ] SOC 2 Type II report (check scope + report period)
[ ] Data Processing Agreement (check sub-processor list)
[ ] Breach notification terms and timeline
AI-specific additions:
[ ] Written confirmation: is submitted data used for model training?
[ ] Data retention period for prompts/outputs
[ ] Documented red-teaming / adversarial testing summary
[ ] Controls against prompt injection and cross-tenant leakage| Evidence Type | What It Actually Confirms |
|---|---|
| Marketing claim ("enterprise-grade security") | Nothing verifiable — a claim, not evidence |
| SOC 2 Type II report + signed DPA + AI-specific answers | Independently audited controls, contractual data-handling terms, and AI-specific risk coverage |
If a vendor hesitates or can't produce a current SOC 2 Type II report and a specific, named DPA on request, treat that as the actual finding of your review — not a formality to chase down after signing a contract. The absence of these documents is itself informative.
Practical Challenge
Using the checklist above, request these documents from an AI vendor you (or your organization) currently use or are evaluating, and note which items they can and can't produce.
Concept Check
Sources & Further Reading
- DeepInspect: AI Vendor Due Diligence Checklist — a detailed AI-specific vendor security review framework referenced in this article.
- GDPR Article 28 (Full Text) — the legal basis requiring a Data Processing Agreement between controllers and processors.