By Rob Kall, Co-Founder & CEO, Cien.ai

“The best way to avoid being hacked is to ensure there is nothing to hack.”

– Rob Kall, Co-Founder & CEO, Cien.ai

Problem: CRM Integrations as a New Attack Surface

Companies are more nervous than ever about data security—and rightfully so. New breaches are reported almost daily. While cybercriminals still prioritize high-value targets like financial services and gaming sites, a quieter—and arguably more dangerous—wave of attacks is now targeting integrated business systems. Especially those where CRM data is copied, synced, or loosely secured.

Take the rise in GDPR blackmail, where attackers don’t immediately leak data—they threaten disclosure to regulators unless a ransom is paid. Or the growing use of secondary hacks: breaches of platforms like email automation tools, where the goal isn’t the system itself, but the sensitive crumbs left inside—emails with server credentials, passwords, or PII (Personally Identifiable Information) shared casually in thread replies.

In a recent incident involving Clari/Salesloft’s Drift integration, attackers were able to scan large volumes of email data. That was bad, but what was really problematic was when they were able to extract system access details embedded in customer correspondence. Initially, the breach seemed minor. But over time, the scope expanded—and the most damaging consequences emerged weeks later, illustrating the delayed threat of poor integration hygiene.

CRM integrations are essential for scale—but they’re also quietly becoming one of your biggest liabilities.

Solution: Don’t Copy It. Mask It. Control It.

The fix isn’t complicated. In fact, it starts with a single principle:

Don’t copy sensitive data unless absolutely necessary.

Every time you duplicate your CRM data—to push it to a vendor, into a spreadsheet, or across platforms—you create another surface for hackers to exploit. Log in to your Salesforce or HubSpot instance and check the integrations. You’ll likely have a lot more than you expected.

Instead, adopt a modern architecture where data stays in your controlled environments. Run analytics in place, within your CRM or cloud data instance, rather than extracting and sending it elsewhere.

And most critically – mask sensitive fields like PII, passwords, and login credentials before they’re ever analyzed or indexed by any tool. Data masking removes identifying or high-risk fields from visibility, reducing your exposure while still allowing you to still generate the insights you need.

You still get full visibility into sales performance, lead quality, rep productivity, time spent, and pipeline trends—without ever compromising control.

What Does Success Look Like?

At Cien.ai, we’ve built our platform around this exact idea:
– AI-native models trained to work on masked, anonymized datasets
– Flexible deployment, so data can stay in your CRM, cloud warehouse, or private cloud
– Data-first design, built to deliver useful insights, without compromising security

Success means no tradeoff between insight and security.

You’ll be able to unlock advanced GTM diagnostics—from rep performance to cross-sell opportunity modeling—without needing to worry about PII exposure, breach risks, or who’s got a forgotten copy of your customer list.

About the Cien.ai Data Exec Series

This article is part of our Data Exec Series, inspired by our work with B2B leaders, growth consultants, and PE operating partners. These pieces focus on how to become a data-driven executive ready for the AI revolution. If you’re interested in RevOps analytics and GTM performance strategy, be sure to also check out our Growth Essentials and Practical RevOps Analytics series.