Is Vibe Coding Going to Turn Your Codebase Into a Frat Party?
Frat parties and coding aren’t typically an organic comparison, but that was before the arrival of what has been dubbed “vibe coding”: essentially, the process by which developers and non-developers alike can prompt their way through software development utilizing agentic AI coding tools. While this approach is sure to supercharge code production, in the hands of a novice with no security experience or skill, far too much of the “thinking” is outsourced to the AI, leaving more than enough room for serious security bugs, misconfiguration, and broken code to permeate the codebase when left unchecked.
Think of it like this: Vibe coding is like a college frat party, and AI is the centerpiece of all the festivities, the keg. It’s a lot of fun to let loose, get creative, and see where your imagination can take you, but after a few keg stands, drinking (or, using AI) in moderation is undoubtedly the safer long-term solution.
Nevertheless, software as we know it is being disrupted, and the next generation of developers—with AI tools in their tech stack—are here to stay. In fact, approximately 76% of developers are using, or are planning to use, AI tooling in the software development process. It is now up to security leaders to manage the use of this technology, including the reduction of developer-associated security risks.
So, how can security professionals safely leverage the promising productivity gains associated with AI coding? Banning tools outright is not the solution, nor is it viable for security teams to manually monitor every line of code they produce. The answer lies in making developers central to the enterprise security program, equipping them with the knowledge and tools they need to understand the risks, keep security front of mind, and become part of the solution.
What’s the deal with agentic AI agents?
Developers have a lot of plates to spin in the course of their jobs, and their responsibilities tend to suffer from a little “scope creep”. It’s natural that when a helping hand was offered in the form of AI tools that promise high-performance, autonomous coding capabilities, they would embrace them with open arms. Free tools like DeepSeek pose an unacceptable risk to the enterprise due to insecure code output and ease of malware creation, among other things, but more powerful, proprietary coding agents are not without a significant risk profile, either.
Our VP of Engineering, John Cranney, recently completed some tests of agentic AI tools, and the results were rather alarming from a security perspective. Despite some guardrails in place, security issues are prevalent, and in the hands of a novice who does not possess the skills to know the difference between good and bad (read: exploitable) code, it’s a terrible idea for that to run rampant in enterprise repositories.
Shaping the next generation of developers for the future of software security
Vibe coding, agentic AI coding, and whatever the next iteration of AI-powered software development will be are not going away, and they have already changed the way many developers approach their jobs. The solution is not to ban the tools outright and possibly create a monster in the form of unchecked, “shadow AI” in the team, but ignore the risks at your company’s peril.
Next-gen developers are crucial, and now is the time to ready the development cohort to leverage AI effectively and safely. It must be made abundantly clear why and how AI/LLM tools create acceptable risk, with hands-on, practical learning pathways delivering the knowledge required to manage and mitigate that risk as it presents itself in their workday. Anything less, and the danger of their actions will not be realized, nor can it be avoided.
Secure Code Warrior partners with over 600 enterprise clients to assist them in uplifting the security skills of their development cohorts, and the results speak for themselves. We have a range of AI-relevant learning pathways, missions, and tools to ensure your teams are able to thrive and reap the benefits of AI tools while reducing the risks associated with their unchecked use.
A good, security-skilled developer using AI will see a considerable uptick in meaningful production, while a developer with low security awareness and skills will simply fast-track poisoning the codebase with vulnerable code. Get in touch and fortify your team today.
Vibe coding is like a college frat party, and AI is the centerpiece of all the festivities, the keg. It’s a lot of fun to let loose, get creative, and see where your imagination can take you, but after a few keg stands, drinking (or, using AI) in moderation is undoubtedly the safer long-term solution.
Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and Co-Founder
Secure Code Warrior is here for your organization to help you secure code across the entire software development lifecycle and create a culture in which cybersecurity is top of mind. Whether you’re an AppSec Manager, Developer, CISO, or anyone involved in security, we can help your organization reduce risks associated with insecure code.
Book a demo
Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and Co-Founder
Pieter Danhieux is a globally recognized security expert, with over 12 years experience as a security consultant and 8 years as a Principal Instructor for SANS teaching offensive techniques on how to target and assess organizations, systems and individuals for security weaknesses. In 2016, he was recognized as one of the Coolest Tech people in Australia (Business Insider), awarded Cyber Security Professional of the Year (AISA - Australian Information Security Association) and holds GSE, CISSP, GCIH, GCFA, GSEC, GPEN, GWAPT, GCIA certifications.
Frat parties and coding aren’t typically an organic comparison, but that was before the arrival of what has been dubbed “vibe coding”: essentially, the process by which developers and non-developers alike can prompt their way through software development utilizing agentic AI coding tools. While this approach is sure to supercharge code production, in the hands of a novice with no security experience or skill, far too much of the “thinking” is outsourced to the AI, leaving more than enough room for serious security bugs, misconfiguration, and broken code to permeate the codebase when left unchecked.
Think of it like this: Vibe coding is like a college frat party, and AI is the centerpiece of all the festivities, the keg. It’s a lot of fun to let loose, get creative, and see where your imagination can take you, but after a few keg stands, drinking (or, using AI) in moderation is undoubtedly the safer long-term solution.
Nevertheless, software as we know it is being disrupted, and the next generation of developers—with AI tools in their tech stack—are here to stay. In fact, approximately 76% of developers are using, or are planning to use, AI tooling in the software development process. It is now up to security leaders to manage the use of this technology, including the reduction of developer-associated security risks.
So, how can security professionals safely leverage the promising productivity gains associated with AI coding? Banning tools outright is not the solution, nor is it viable for security teams to manually monitor every line of code they produce. The answer lies in making developers central to the enterprise security program, equipping them with the knowledge and tools they need to understand the risks, keep security front of mind, and become part of the solution.
What’s the deal with agentic AI agents?
Developers have a lot of plates to spin in the course of their jobs, and their responsibilities tend to suffer from a little “scope creep”. It’s natural that when a helping hand was offered in the form of AI tools that promise high-performance, autonomous coding capabilities, they would embrace them with open arms. Free tools like DeepSeek pose an unacceptable risk to the enterprise due to insecure code output and ease of malware creation, among other things, but more powerful, proprietary coding agents are not without a significant risk profile, either.
Our VP of Engineering, John Cranney, recently completed some tests of agentic AI tools, and the results were rather alarming from a security perspective. Despite some guardrails in place, security issues are prevalent, and in the hands of a novice who does not possess the skills to know the difference between good and bad (read: exploitable) code, it’s a terrible idea for that to run rampant in enterprise repositories.
Shaping the next generation of developers for the future of software security
Vibe coding, agentic AI coding, and whatever the next iteration of AI-powered software development will be are not going away, and they have already changed the way many developers approach their jobs. The solution is not to ban the tools outright and possibly create a monster in the form of unchecked, “shadow AI” in the team, but ignore the risks at your company’s peril.
Next-gen developers are crucial, and now is the time to ready the development cohort to leverage AI effectively and safely. It must be made abundantly clear why and how AI/LLM tools create acceptable risk, with hands-on, practical learning pathways delivering the knowledge required to manage and mitigate that risk as it presents itself in their workday. Anything less, and the danger of their actions will not be realized, nor can it be avoided.
Secure Code Warrior partners with over 600 enterprise clients to assist them in uplifting the security skills of their development cohorts, and the results speak for themselves. We have a range of AI-relevant learning pathways, missions, and tools to ensure your teams are able to thrive and reap the benefits of AI tools while reducing the risks associated with their unchecked use.
A good, security-skilled developer using AI will see a considerable uptick in meaningful production, while a developer with low security awareness and skills will simply fast-track poisoning the codebase with vulnerable code. Get in touch and fortify your team today.
Frat parties and coding aren’t typically an organic comparison, but that was before the arrival of what has been dubbed “vibe coding”: essentially, the process by which developers and non-developers alike can prompt their way through software development utilizing agentic AI coding tools. While this approach is sure to supercharge code production, in the hands of a novice with no security experience or skill, far too much of the “thinking” is outsourced to the AI, leaving more than enough room for serious security bugs, misconfiguration, and broken code to permeate the codebase when left unchecked.
Think of it like this: Vibe coding is like a college frat party, and AI is the centerpiece of all the festivities, the keg. It’s a lot of fun to let loose, get creative, and see where your imagination can take you, but after a few keg stands, drinking (or, using AI) in moderation is undoubtedly the safer long-term solution.
Nevertheless, software as we know it is being disrupted, and the next generation of developers—with AI tools in their tech stack—are here to stay. In fact, approximately 76% of developers are using, or are planning to use, AI tooling in the software development process. It is now up to security leaders to manage the use of this technology, including the reduction of developer-associated security risks.
So, how can security professionals safely leverage the promising productivity gains associated with AI coding? Banning tools outright is not the solution, nor is it viable for security teams to manually monitor every line of code they produce. The answer lies in making developers central to the enterprise security program, equipping them with the knowledge and tools they need to understand the risks, keep security front of mind, and become part of the solution.
What’s the deal with agentic AI agents?
Developers have a lot of plates to spin in the course of their jobs, and their responsibilities tend to suffer from a little “scope creep”. It’s natural that when a helping hand was offered in the form of AI tools that promise high-performance, autonomous coding capabilities, they would embrace them with open arms. Free tools like DeepSeek pose an unacceptable risk to the enterprise due to insecure code output and ease of malware creation, among other things, but more powerful, proprietary coding agents are not without a significant risk profile, either.
Our VP of Engineering, John Cranney, recently completed some tests of agentic AI tools, and the results were rather alarming from a security perspective. Despite some guardrails in place, security issues are prevalent, and in the hands of a novice who does not possess the skills to know the difference between good and bad (read: exploitable) code, it’s a terrible idea for that to run rampant in enterprise repositories.
Shaping the next generation of developers for the future of software security
Vibe coding, agentic AI coding, and whatever the next iteration of AI-powered software development will be are not going away, and they have already changed the way many developers approach their jobs. The solution is not to ban the tools outright and possibly create a monster in the form of unchecked, “shadow AI” in the team, but ignore the risks at your company’s peril.
Next-gen developers are crucial, and now is the time to ready the development cohort to leverage AI effectively and safely. It must be made abundantly clear why and how AI/LLM tools create acceptable risk, with hands-on, practical learning pathways delivering the knowledge required to manage and mitigate that risk as it presents itself in their workday. Anything less, and the danger of their actions will not be realized, nor can it be avoided.
Secure Code Warrior partners with over 600 enterprise clients to assist them in uplifting the security skills of their development cohorts, and the results speak for themselves. We have a range of AI-relevant learning pathways, missions, and tools to ensure your teams are able to thrive and reap the benefits of AI tools while reducing the risks associated with their unchecked use.
A good, security-skilled developer using AI will see a considerable uptick in meaningful production, while a developer with low security awareness and skills will simply fast-track poisoning the codebase with vulnerable code. Get in touch and fortify your team today.
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Secure Code Warrior is here for your organization to help you secure code across the entire software development lifecycle and create a culture in which cybersecurity is top of mind. Whether you’re an AppSec Manager, Developer, CISO, or anyone involved in security, we can help your organization reduce risks associated with insecure code.
View reportBook a demo
Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and Co-Founder
Pieter Danhieux is a globally recognized security expert, with over 12 years experience as a security consultant and 8 years as a Principal Instructor for SANS teaching offensive techniques on how to target and assess organizations, systems and individuals for security weaknesses. In 2016, he was recognized as one of the Coolest Tech people in Australia (Business Insider), awarded Cyber Security Professional of the Year (AISA - Australian Information Security Association) and holds GSE, CISSP, GCIH, GCFA, GSEC, GPEN, GWAPT, GCIA certifications.
Frat parties and coding aren’t typically an organic comparison, but that was before the arrival of what has been dubbed “vibe coding”: essentially, the process by which developers and non-developers alike can prompt their way through software development utilizing agentic AI coding tools. While this approach is sure to supercharge code production, in the hands of a novice with no security experience or skill, far too much of the “thinking” is outsourced to the AI, leaving more than enough room for serious security bugs, misconfiguration, and broken code to permeate the codebase when left unchecked.
Think of it like this: Vibe coding is like a college frat party, and AI is the centerpiece of all the festivities, the keg. It’s a lot of fun to let loose, get creative, and see where your imagination can take you, but after a few keg stands, drinking (or, using AI) in moderation is undoubtedly the safer long-term solution.
Nevertheless, software as we know it is being disrupted, and the next generation of developers—with AI tools in their tech stack—are here to stay. In fact, approximately 76% of developers are using, or are planning to use, AI tooling in the software development process. It is now up to security leaders to manage the use of this technology, including the reduction of developer-associated security risks.
So, how can security professionals safely leverage the promising productivity gains associated with AI coding? Banning tools outright is not the solution, nor is it viable for security teams to manually monitor every line of code they produce. The answer lies in making developers central to the enterprise security program, equipping them with the knowledge and tools they need to understand the risks, keep security front of mind, and become part of the solution.
What’s the deal with agentic AI agents?
Developers have a lot of plates to spin in the course of their jobs, and their responsibilities tend to suffer from a little “scope creep”. It’s natural that when a helping hand was offered in the form of AI tools that promise high-performance, autonomous coding capabilities, they would embrace them with open arms. Free tools like DeepSeek pose an unacceptable risk to the enterprise due to insecure code output and ease of malware creation, among other things, but more powerful, proprietary coding agents are not without a significant risk profile, either.
Our VP of Engineering, John Cranney, recently completed some tests of agentic AI tools, and the results were rather alarming from a security perspective. Despite some guardrails in place, security issues are prevalent, and in the hands of a novice who does not possess the skills to know the difference between good and bad (read: exploitable) code, it’s a terrible idea for that to run rampant in enterprise repositories.
Shaping the next generation of developers for the future of software security
Vibe coding, agentic AI coding, and whatever the next iteration of AI-powered software development will be are not going away, and they have already changed the way many developers approach their jobs. The solution is not to ban the tools outright and possibly create a monster in the form of unchecked, “shadow AI” in the team, but ignore the risks at your company’s peril.
Next-gen developers are crucial, and now is the time to ready the development cohort to leverage AI effectively and safely. It must be made abundantly clear why and how AI/LLM tools create acceptable risk, with hands-on, practical learning pathways delivering the knowledge required to manage and mitigate that risk as it presents itself in their workday. Anything less, and the danger of their actions will not be realized, nor can it be avoided.
Secure Code Warrior partners with over 600 enterprise clients to assist them in uplifting the security skills of their development cohorts, and the results speak for themselves. We have a range of AI-relevant learning pathways, missions, and tools to ensure your teams are able to thrive and reap the benefits of AI tools while reducing the risks associated with their unchecked use.
A good, security-skilled developer using AI will see a considerable uptick in meaningful production, while a developer with low security awareness and skills will simply fast-track poisoning the codebase with vulnerable code. Get in touch and fortify your team today.
Table of contents
Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and Co-Founder
Secure Code Warrior is here for your organization to help you secure code across the entire software development lifecycle and create a culture in which cybersecurity is top of mind. Whether you’re an AppSec Manager, Developer, CISO, or anyone involved in security, we can help your organization reduce risks associated with insecure code.
Book a demoDownloadResources to get you started
Benchmarking Security Skills: Streamlining Secure-by-Design in the Enterprise
Finding meaningful data on the success of Secure-by-Design initiatives is notoriously difficult. CISOs are often challenged when attempting to prove the return on investment (ROI) and business value of security program activities at both the people and company levels. Not to mention, it’s particularly difficult for enterprises to gain insights into how their organizations are benchmarked against current industry standards. The President’s National Cybersecurity Strategy challenged stakeholders to “embrace security and resilience by design.” The key to making Secure-by-Design initiatives work is not only giving developers the skills to ensure secure code, but also assuring the regulators that those skills are in place. In this presentation, we share a myriad of qualitative and quantitative data, derived from multiple primary sources, including internal data points collected from over 250,000 developers, data-driven customer insights, and public studies. Leveraging this aggregation of data points, we aim to communicate a vision of the current state of Secure-by-Design initiatives across multiple verticals. The report details why this space is currently underutilized, the significant impact a successful upskilling program can have on cybersecurity risk mitigation, and the potential to eliminate categories of vulnerabilities from a codebase.
Secure code training topics & content
Our industry-leading content is always evolving to fit the ever changing software development landscape with your role in mind. Topics covering everything from AI to XQuery Injection, offered for a variety of roles from Architects and Engineers to Product Managers and QA. Get a sneak peak of what our content catalog has to offer by topic and role.
Quests: Industry leading learning to keep developers ahead of the game mitigating risk.
Quests is a learning platform that helps developers mitigate software security risks by enhancing their secure coding skills. With curated learning paths, hands-on challenges, and interactive activities, it empowers developers to identify and prevent vulnerabilities.
Resources to get you started
The Decade of the Defenders: Secure Code Warrior Turns Ten
Secure Code Warrior's founding team has stayed together, steering the ship through every lesson, triumph, and setback for an entire decade. We’re scaling up and ready to face our next chapter, SCW 2.0, as the leaders in developer risk management.
10 Key Predictions: Secure Code Warrior on AI & Secure-by-Design’s Influence in 2025
Organizations are facing tough decisions on AI usage to support long-term productivity, sustainability, and security ROI. It’s become clear to us over the last few years that AI will never fully replace the role of the developer. From AI + developer partnerships to the increasing pressures (and confusion) around Secure-by-Design expectations, let’s take a closer look at what we can expect over the next year.
Developer-driven coding.
Securely.
Contact us today and make software security an intrinsic part of your development process.
