Are criminals vibe coding malware? All signs point to yes

Interview With everyone from would-be developers to six-year-old kids jumping on the vibe coding bandwagon, it shouldn't be surprising that criminals like automated coding tools too.

"Everybody's asking: Is vibe coding used in malware? And the answer, right now, is very likely yes," Kate Middagh, senior consulting director for Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42, told The Register.

Only about half of the organizations that we work with have any limits on AI

The silver lining for defenders, however, is that AI models – even when asked to write ransom notes – make mistakes, meaning vibe-coded attacks can fail.

As with any shiny new technology, AI-assisted coding introduces many security vulnerabilities, including the potential for enterprise development teams to accelerate their work to a speed that security teams can't match.

There are also risks from AI agents and systems accessing and exfiltrating data they shouldn't be allowed to touch ...