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SINGAPORE: A growing but often overlooked cyber risk is emerging as employees turn to unauthorised artificial intelligence (AI) tools to get work done.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt used to be \u2018shadow IT\u2019. People want to get work done, so they install some software that they shouldn’t and the company’s at risk,\u201d said DEF CON founder Jeff Moss on Wednesday (Apr 29).<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNow, people are installing AI agents \u2026 because of the pressure to perform. But what they don’t realise a lot of times is, that data you’re giving the system goes back up to the manufacturer and is used to train (AI models),\u201d he told CNA\u2019s Singapore Tonight programme.<\/span><\/p>\n He warned that this threat of \u201cshadow AI\u201d could expose sensitive corporate data, even as organisations focus on more traditional cyber threats.<\/span><\/p>\n Mr Moss was speaking on the second day of the inaugural DEF CON Singapore convention, which aims to grow the ethical hacking community by bringing together hackers and cybersecurity experts to test and challenge systems like police robots and drones.<\/span><\/p>\n Originally launched in the United States in 1993, DEF CON has become one of the world\u2019s largest and most influential hacking conventions.<\/span><\/p>\n Singapore\u2019s Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) partnered with DEF CON to bring it to Southeast Asia for the first time. It was held alongside the Milipol TechX Summit 2026 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.<\/span><\/p>\n The Singapore debut drew about 3,000 participants, with around a quarter coming from across the region, including Australia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines, said Mr Moss.<\/span><\/p>\n He said\u00a0organisers were unsure what to expect from the local crowd, but were surprised by the mix.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe were expecting maybe lots of students, but we also got a lot of career professionals,\u201d he noted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n