AI application security controls testing
Q9 Continuous tests the controls around your AI application: who and what can reach the model, where data flows, where the trust boundaries sit, how secrets are handled, which third-party models and services it depends on, and whether misuse would be visible to you.
01What it does
What it does
AI application security controls testing checks the access, data-flow, secrets and monitoring controls around an AI system. It is tested as part of Q9 Continuous, within the authorised scope, alongside the model, retrieval and API testing for the same application.
Design documentation and walkthroughs with your engineers help target the tests. Every finding is reviewed by a person before it reaches you, and coverage is confirmed during scoping.
02Risk register
Risks we evaluate
What Q9 Continuous tests for within your agreed scope. Coverage is confirmed during scoping; not every item applies to every deployment.
- 05.01Model accessWho and what can call each model, with which credentials, and with what level of privilege.
- 05.02Data flowsWhere personal, confidential or regulated data enters prompts, context, logs and outputs.
- 05.03Trust boundariesWhere untrusted content meets instructions, and where the design relies on the model to enforce access.
- 05.04Third-party model dependenciesReliance on external model providers and AI services, and what data is shared with them.
- 05.05Secrets in the AI pathHow keys and credentials used by models, tools and integrations are stored and scoped.
- 05.06Monitoring and loggingWhether misuse or unexpected behaviour of AI components would be visible to you.
03Who needs it
Who needs it
- Teams launching AI features who need to know the controls around them hold up under attack.
- Organisations combining several models, providers or AI services in one system.
- Security and risk teams that need evidence about the controls around an AI system already in use.
04Approach
How Q9 Continuous tests it
Every test follows the same path, agreed in writing before any testing starts.
Discovery
We map your AI architecture, understand your threat model, and define what’s in scope based on your risk appetite and compliance obligations.
Agreed scope & written authorisation
Scope, environments, accounts and testing windows are agreed in writing. Nothing is tested without written authorisation from the people responsible for the system.
Testing
Q9 Continuous runs AI-driven tests against the authorised system, tailored to your deployment.
Human-reviewed findings
Every finding is reviewed by a person before it reaches you, with severity, context and stated limitations.
Reporting & remediation
Severity ratings, reproduction steps and remediation guidance your engineering team can act on, plus an executive summary for board-level reporting.
Re-testing where agreed
Where agreed, fixes are re-tested within the authorised scope through Continuous AI Pen Testing.
Testing runs on Q9 Continuous: fixes and significant changes can be re-tested within the authorised scope, and Q9 Driftmark (early access) can show when a checked system changes. Automated checks complement, and do not replace, independent penetration testing.
05Deliverables
What you receive
- A findings report with severity ratings, reproduction steps and remediation guidance
- A record of the access paths, data flows and trust boundaries tested
- An executive summary for board-level reporting
- A clear statement of what was in scope, and of any testing limitations
Each test is a point-in-time check of an agreed scope. It is not a certification and does not guarantee that every risk has been found.
What We Test
Other things we test
- 01
Large language models
Prompt injection, jailbreaks, unsafe model behaviour and the data a model can reach.
- 02
Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)
Retrieval pipelines, vector stores and knowledge-base isolation.
- 03
Agentic AI and tool execution
Autonomous agents, the tools they call and the permissions they hold.
- 04
APIs and application endpoints
The APIs and model endpoints that connect AI to your business.
- 06
AI usage discovery
Finding AI systems and integrations so they can be brought into testing scope.