Inside Advisor360’s Battle Against Rogue AI: Automation Strikes Back

When financial advisors at Advisor360 began experimenting with powerful artificial intelligence tools, they weren’t waiting for official approval. Instead, they dove headfirst into freely available AI platforms, eager to gain an edge. But this digital gold rush came at a price: a shadowy web of unsanctioned tools, lurking data leaks, and a security team struggling to keep up. Now, Advisor360 is fighting back with automation - and the stakes couldn’t be higher for the entire financial services industry.

Fast Facts

• Over 90% of financial advisors believe AI will revolutionize investment management and client service (2025 Accenture survey).
• Advisor360 detected widespread use of unapproved, free AI tools among its nearly 700 global employees.
• The company adopted Harmonic Protect in 2024 to automate detection and enforcement of safe AI practices.
• Manual vetting of AI tools previously took days; automation reduced this to seconds.
• Advisor360 is piloting even more granular oversight with Harmonic’s MCP Gateway platform.

Automation Versus the Shadow AI Menace

AI has become the new arms race in the financial sector, with wealth management platforms like Advisor360 feeling the pressure to innovate or be left behind. But as employees eagerly adopted the latest AI tools - often free, consumer-grade, and outside corporate oversight - security teams found themselves facing a wave of “shadow AI.” The risks were real: sensitive client data could be exposed, compliance could be breached, and the very foundation of trust in the financial system could be undermined.

“Every day is a new feature, a new type of improvement coming out,” said Michael Janielis, Advisor360’s Senior Principal, Information Security Architect. The company’s small security operations center, just five people strong, initially relied on manual vetting - an approach that simply couldn’t keep pace. Visibility was limited, and data leakage remained a top concern, especially as employees trained external AI models with confidential data.

The turning point came with the adoption of Harmonic Protect, an automation platform designed to detect, analyze, and enforce AI usage policies in real time. Within days of deployment, Advisor360 could see exactly which tools were being used, how, and by whom. “It’s literally hours to seconds,” Janielis noted, describing the leap from labor-intensive reviews to instant oversight.

Harmonic’s dashboard covered most of the popular AI tools - about 75% by Janielis’s estimate - and the company became a key design partner for further product development. As new AI platforms like DeepSeek emerged, Harmonic was already updating its systems, giving Advisor360 immediate visibility and control. The collaboration highlights a crucial trend: as AI evolves, so too must the partnerships and technologies that secure it.

Now, with the rollout of Harmonic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) Gateway, Advisor360 is taking AI oversight to the next level, providing even more granular monitoring for developers and, soon, the entire enterprise. The battle against shadow AI is far from over, but automation has tipped the balance in favor of security - at least for now.

Conclusion

The rise of shadow AI is forcing fintech firms to rethink old security playbooks. Advisor360’s experience shows that only by embracing automation and forging close partnerships with tech innovators can companies hope to keep pace with both opportunity and risk. In the relentless race between innovation and control, only the fastest - and the smartest - will stay ahead.

WIKICROOK

• Shadow AI: Shadow AI is when employees use AI tools without official approval, creating hidden security and compliance risks for organizations.
• Automation: Automation uses software to perform cybersecurity tasks without human input, making processes faster, more efficient, and less prone to mistakes.
• Security Operations Center (SOC): A Security Operations Center (SOC) is a team or facility that monitors, detects, and responds to cybersecurity threats 24/7 to protect an organization.
• Data Leakage: Data leakage is the unintentional or deliberate exposure of sensitive information to unauthorized parties, often due to software flaws or human mistakes.
• Model Context Protocol (MCP): The Model Context Protocol (MCP) connects AI tools to various organizational data sources, enabling secure and efficient data sharing and collaboration.