Protect AI-Assisted Payment Instructions
Build one Bow-Tie with credible paths, correctly positioned barriers, common-mode dependencies, degradation controls and assurance owners.
30 minutes
Scenario
An AI assistant drafts supplier-payment instructions from email and invoices. A reviewer sees the generated instruction but not a direct comparison with authorised supplier data. Leaders list 'human approval' and 'training' as two independent preventive controls.
- Your role
- Operational-risk lead challenging the control architecture
- Method
- Bow-Tie Analysis
Evidence pack
Authority
The assistant can draft but cannot submit a payment.
Interface
Reviewers see the same generated summary used to populate the instruction.
Master data
Bank-detail changes are allowed after email confirmation by the requester.
History
Two near misses involved compromised supplier mailboxes.
Recovery
Payments can be held for two hours and recalled under a tested procedure.
Degradation
Privileged retrieval access is reviewed manually once per quarter.
Constraints
- Use one recoverable top event.
- Do not credit policy or human presence without a path mechanism and evidence.
- Residual-risk acceptance remains with the authorised finance role.
Case steps
Work through each prompt using the evidence pack. These guided cases support self-directed practice; server-scored attempts are not available yet.
Define the activity, hazard and one precise top event.
Map two threat paths, preventive barriers, one consequence path and recovery barriers.
Challenge independence and add degradation factors and controls.
Assign owners, standards, evidence and review triggers for critical barriers.