TrustAssure launched: AI Governance Badge of Assurance – April 2026
- Penny Heyes
- May 5
- 3 min read
London, UK – April 2026 — As organisations rapidly adopt artificial intelligence across their operations, identifying and managing the risks that AI poses has become a critical challenge.
Add to that the compliance and governance of AI usage – the picture is even more complex.
The TrustBridge® and 224Protect Ltd announced the launch of a new AI Governance Assessment Scheme (TrustAssure) designed to help organisations evaluate and, importantly, demonstrate responsible use of AI.
According to the 2026 Thales Data Threat Report, 70% of organisations now rank AI as their top data security risk, and TTB/ 224’s initiative responds to that growing concern.
Inadequate return on investment and soaring costs of software licences and AI usage have been identified by some organisations as a key risk. Unauthorised or uncontrolled use of AI poses a risk to Data Protection, such as data leakage, unlawful access and processing of private, personal data, and untrusted data with the ability to communicate without relevant consent, all in contravention of the Data Protection Act (GDPR). Control is key.
Just one example shows how important it is: on April 29th it was reported that an popular, well known AI agent deleted a start up firm’s entire database — in nine seconds.
Jer Crane, founder of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform PocketOS, posted about the incident on X. “Yesterday afternoon, an AI coding agent (popular) deleted our production database and all volume-level backups in a single API call to Railway, our infrastructure provider,” he said. “It took 9 seconds.”
The TrustAssure assessment follows a simple structured process that includes an initial AI risk identification assessment and a process to analyse governance gaps such as lack of policies / processes and risk / data management. This is followed by an implementation planning stage, and a formal audit which leads to certification of AI Audit Readiness by Trust Assure.
Trust Assure provides a practical and affordable methodology for organisations to become AI audit ready.
The scheme combines both 224Protect Ltd’s and The TrustBridge’s ICO-approved GDPR audit methodology with 224Protect Ltd’s AI governance controls, creating a comprehensive assessment aligned with emerging regulatory frameworks such as the EU AI Act, the Cyber Security Resilience Act, and upcoming UK AI governance initiatives as well as GDPR.
Tim Hyman, Founder of 224Protect Ltd, said:“We bring extensive real-world experience supporting organisations whose operations are, or have been, exposed to the significant risks associated with AI. That experience has given us a clear understanding of what works when it comes to effective risk mitigation.”
Penny Heyes, Co-Founder of The TrustBridge, added:“TrustAssure has been developed from a uniquely informed position. With more than five years’ experience working with, and in dialogue with, the ICO to help shape compliance frameworks and controls, we are exceptionally well placed to define what ‘good’ compliance looks like in this evolving area.”
By completing the assessment, organisations can:
Identify and mitigate AI-related risks early
Demonstrate responsible AI governance to regulators, customers, and partners
Prepare for future regulatory audits and certification standards
Build trust across employees, supply chains, and stakeholders
The TrustAssure programme is designed for organisations deploying AI and companies developing AI products, helping ensure that AI systems are implemented safely, transparently, and responsibly.
The TrustAssure AI Governance Assessment will initially be available across the UK and Europe, with plans to expand through trained assessors and partner organisations.
For more information
Media Contact:Penny Heyes
CEO, The TrustBridge
+44(0) 7768 962 480
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