AI is rapidly reshaping how we work.
In fact, according to Zendesk, 89 percent of HR leaders expect AI to fundamentally transform HR operations by 2028, shifting how teams collaborate, make decisions, and support their people.
However, as AI becomes more deeply embedded in everyday processes, it introduces new responsibilities, especially around data security.
HR, Finance, and IT teams are stewards of critical (and highly sensitive) financial and people data. And while AI brings massive opportunities for efficiency and insight, it also raises valid questions:
- How can we ensure privacy, compliance, and transparency without slowing innovation?
- How can we protect the data our people trust us with, while adopting the tools that move the business forward?
Security is a trust issue with reputational implications. A breach can erode customer, investor, and employee confidence, trigger regulatory fines, disrupt operations, and leak sensitive information.
That’s why, at HiBob, we’ve made security foundational in everything we build. Bob is built to protect business and workforce data. From secure infrastructure and in-product controls to AI governance and third-party integrations, HiBob helps your organization adopt new technologies with confidence—without compromising control, compliance, or care.
In this guide, we’ll walk through HiBob’s approach to data protection in the AI era. You’ll get an inside look at the platform’s secure-by-design architecture, transparent opt-out model, and HiBob security’s built-in guardrails that help you scale AI responsibly, so you can innovate, move fast, and stay secure.
<<Stronger compliance. Smarter innovation. See how HiBob makes both possible. Download the guide.>>
AI is accelerating, and so are the risks
AI brings a whole wave of innovation, transforming how teams operate, plan, and grow with smarter automation and faster insights.
But while the benefits are clear, so are the responsibilities. AI tools rely on data, and that data often includes some of your most critical assets: compensation details, performance records, workforce plans, and personal information.
As AI adoption accelerates, the responsibility to keep that information private, compliant, and safe grows with it.
You shouldn’t have to sacrifice security for the sake of innovation (or slow down innovation) to stay secure. That’s why with Bob, security and innovation work together by design. You can confidently explore what’s possible with AI, knowing Bob protects your people data with industry-leading practices.
The real-world risk of data insecurity
Every organization holds a wealth of critical and sensitive information: people data, compensation history, performance reviews, financial records, workforce plans, and intellectual property.
Keeping this data secure is the foundation of trust between your business and your people. And that trust can be fragile.
A single breach can disrupt operations, lead to costly compliance violations, and damage your reputation with investors, customers, and your team. From GDPR fines to regulatory investigations, the financial cost is only part of the story. The deeper risk is losing the confidence of the people who count on you to protect what matters most.
AI adds a new layer of complexity. Because AI tools depend on processing vast amounts of data, every new integration and automation presents a potential risk.
But who should bear the responsibility of managing those risks?
Security isn’t just an IT concern. It’s a business-wide priority:
- Finance leaders are responsible for protecting company assets and mitigating risk
- HR leaders are stewards of people data and workplace trust
- IT teams are the architects of secure systems
To embrace AI responsibly, these teams must work in unison—aligning on standards, governance, and controls from the start.
Bob’s security-first foundation: Infrastructure and governance
Security is built into Bob’s very foundations. From the architecture to how we design AI features, every element of the platform is created to protect your most important asset: people data.
Our security-first approach is backed by industry-leading certifications that cover both infrastructure and AI. Bob complies with the highest international standards, like ISO 27001, ISO 27018, ISO 42001, HIPAA, SOC 1 Type 2, and SOC 2 Type 2, so you can trust that your data is protected end to end.
And we don’t stop at complying with the highest security standards. Our team continuously monitors Bob with vulnerability scans, penetration testing, and ongoing risk assessments to ensure your data is safe from evolving threats.
Security also means respecting people’s rights to control their data. That’s why Bob aligns with the GDPR’s core principles, including data minimization, purpose limitation, and informed consent. With in-product tooling to manage access, permissions, and requests, you can ensure compliance directly in the flow of work.
If you’re ever curious about the specifics, you can always visit our Trust Center page. It gives you the full details on our security practices, certifications, and policies, so you know how your data is handled.
HiBob security and privacy leadership
At HiBob, our commitment to data security and privacy is driven by a dedicated team of experts who oversee the layers of our platform’s protection.
Led by our Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Data Protection Officer (DPO), our internal security team plays an active, ongoing role in safeguarding customer data. Their work doesn’t happen in isolation.
Our security team partners closely with Legal, Product, Sales, and internal systems teams to minimize risk and enhance compliance and trust.
That cross-functional collaboration starts early and runs deep. From initial product design through deployment, our security leaders are directly involved in shaping how features are built and how data is handled—embedding privacy and protection into the core of Bob’s functionality.
AI features in Bob go through a security and governance review process designed to align with our guiding principles: transparency, fairness, and control. This process builds in critical safeguards before new capabilities ever reach your people.
Our security team also engages directly with customers during security reviews and audits. We’re here to answer questions, share documentation, and build confidence in how we manage customer data.
Built-in security controls that give you confidence
AI-powered experiences in Bob are built on a set of core principles that give your organization clarity, control, and confidence. These built-in guardrails make it easy to adopt AI responsibly, without compromising trust or compliance.
1. Zero-retention by default
Bob processes AI inputs once, without storing or logging them. Information isn’t reused or shared to train external models. This boundary keeps people data private by design.
2. Data isolation at every level
Bob processes customer data independently through logical separation, with safeguards in place to prevent cross-organizational exposure. This approach keeps you in control of how data is used and by whom.
3. Encryption that travels with your data
Bob encrypts data in transit and at rest using industry-standard protocols. That means data remains protected throughout its lifecycle.
4. Role-based access controls
Admins define who can view, use, or configure AI features. Bob tracks every action with audit logs, providing visibility and accountability at all times.
5. Opt-in transparency, aligned with GDPR principles
Admins can opt out of Bob’s AI features at any time. Each feature clearly shows what data it uses and how, aligning with GDPR Article 5 principles of fairness, purpose limitation, and data minimization.
Put simply: Admins stay in control. They decide what to enable, and features use data only for its defined purpose. These controls give you the protection and confidence to explore AI safely, strategically, and with respect for your people’s trust.
<<Speed matters. So does security. Learn how to have both with HiBob. Get the guide.>>
Global compliance, local trust
Compliance shouldn’t be a barrier for global businesses.
That’s why we built it into each layer of Bob—from infrastructure and encryption to AI governance and data privacy tools—so you can operate confidently across borders while protecting your people’s trust.
Trust that’s built for GDPR and global standards
GDPR sets the global benchmark for data privacy, and we meet it. Our security and compliance posture also supports standards such as HIPAA and SOC 2, along with internationally recognized frameworks like ISO 27001 and ISO 42001.
As a GDPR-aligned data processor, HiBob offers a pre-signed Data Processing Agreement that includes audit rights, deletion terms, and transparency. You can manage privacy requests—like access, correction, and deletion—directly in Bob without opening a support ticket.
Bob doesn’t train AI on personal data. The platform logs interactions, applies permissions, and governs interactions with a transparent, opt-out model, so admins have visibility into how data is handled.
Bob also supports international data transfers through Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), the EU/US Data Privacy Framework, and adequacy decisions where applicable.
But you don’t have to take our word for it. You can audit our practices, review certification summaries, and configure data retention policies to fit your organization’s needs.
EU-based data storage
We host your data in certified AWS data centers in Ireland and Germany. You retain full visibility and control over how your data is handled, and we notify you before making any sub-processor changes.
A named European-based Data Protection Officer and regional offices demonstrate HiBob’s ongoing commitment to compliance and accessibility for all customers in the EU and beyond.
Security that supports emerging EU frameworks
Bob makes it easy to export structured data for upcoming frameworks like CSRD, EU Pay Transparency, and DE&I reporting requirements. Admins can set policies to manage country-specific data protection rules that go beyond GDPR.
Infrastructure backed by certifications and secure development
Bob is certified and audited against the world’s most rigorous standards, including:
- ISO 27001, ISO 27018, ISO 42001
- SOC 1 Type 2, SOC 2 Type 2
- AES-256 encryption in transit and at rest
HiBob reinforces these certifications with proactive practices such as annual penetration testing, continuous vulnerability scanning, a secure development lifecycle (aligned with OWASP), and mandatory security awareness training for every HiBob team member.
With the Bob platform, compliance comes built in, helping you protect data, build trust, and scale globally with confidence.
Integration security that connects without exposing
People across your organization rely on multiple systems to get work done. Bob makes it easy to connect those tools without creating security gaps or forcing teams into risky workarounds.
Bob integrates with over 100 platforms, from single sign-on and applicant tracking systems to payroll providers and travel management tools.
<<Take a look at the full list of software integrations here.>>
HiBob’s security team vets integrations before approval. They review connections for compliance, security controls, and data handling standards to give your sensitive people data extra layers of protection.
When you connect systems through Bob’s APIs, you use channels designed for secure data exchange from the ground up. Encryption, authentication, and strict permissioning protect the flow of information between platforms, whether you’re syncing payroll data, updating HR records, or pulling analytics into another tool.
AI-powered features in Bob also respect your integration permissions. If an integration doesn’t have access to certain data, the AI won’t either. This means your data governance policies extend across all connected systems.
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Security in the age of AI
AI can be a powerful partner for HR, Finance, and IT teams when it operates within clear, trusted boundaries.
Bob’s AI features are built on a foundation of security and transparency. A zero-retention approach for AI inputs keeps sensitive people data private and under your control.
To reduce the risk of cross-organization exposure, Bob processes customer data with unique identifiers and data isolation, keeping your data logically separate from anyone else’s by processing it in secure environments.
Our transparent, opt-out model gives admins control over which AI features to enable, and admins can configure those settings at the organizational level. Every feature shows what data Bob is using and how, so you have visibility and choice.
We also encrypt data in transit and at rest using industry protocols aligned with internationally recognized frameworks for security and privacy.
When it comes to decision-making, Bob keeps people in control. AI features include human-in-the-loop review and rationale guardrails. The platform shows how and why an AI-generated output was produced, along with the data it used.
That way, admins can validate, adjust, or reject recommendations, so AI supports expertise instead of replacing it.
Bob also logs AI actions to create an audit trail for compliance reviews and internal governance. This makes it easy to demonstrate accountability and maintain trust with regulators, stakeholders, and your people.
The bottom line on AI? Bob treats AI as a tool to enhance your team’s capabilities, not as a replacement for the human insight, context, and empathy that drive great decisions.
Say yes to AI with confidence
AI can help your organization work smarter, move faster, and create more value for your people when it’s built on trust.
With HiBob, you don’t have to choose between innovation and security. HR, Finance, and IT leaders have the tools, governance, and transparency they need to adopt AI safely, while keeping people and business data protected along the way.
From zero-retention design and role-based access controls to GDPR-aligned privacy tools and global compliance coverage, Bob’s security-first approach removes the guesswork from responsible AI adoption. Safeguards keep admins in control while helping teams scale and innovate without hesitation.
It’s how you can say yes to AI with the confidence that you’re protecting more than just data—you’re protecting the trust that makes your organization thrive.