The Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) has released an updated "Top 10 Risks for LLMs," highlighting critical security concerns for large language model applications. The updated list, focusing on risks and vulnerabilities in the development, deployment, and management lifecycle of generative AI and LLMs, provides crucial guidance for developers and security professionals. Key updates include a more comprehensive understanding of existing risks, such as "Unbounded Consumption," which expands on previous denial-of-service threats to encompass resource management and unexpected costs in large-scale deployments. The addition of "System Prompt Leakage" addresses real-world exploits where previously assumed secure prompts have been compromised.
The OWASP update also introduces a new entry addressing "Vector and Embeddings," offering guidance on securing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and other embedding-based methods, which are now core practices in grounding model outputs. This comprehensive update underscores the evolving nature of threats within the rapidly expanding landscape of large language models. The updated list aims to help organizations prioritize mitigation efforts and strengthen the overall security posture of their AI systems. The inclusion of these new risks reflects the increased sophistication of attacks targeting LLMs and the need for proactive security measures.
OWASP's continued work on LLM security is further supported by a new project sponsorship program. This initiative will allow organizations to directly support the project, ensuring ongoing research, guidance, and educational resources crucial for the secure adoption of AI and generative AI applications. The updated list and the sponsorship program together represent a significant step towards a more secure future for AI, empowering developers and security professionals to proactively address emerging threats and vulnerabilities.