{"id":39892,"date":"2026-10-19T15:33:58","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T15:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wedodis.co.za\/news\/?p=39892"},"modified":"2026-10-19T15:34:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T15:34:05","slug":"vibes-south-african-website-breached-just-days-after-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wedodis.co.za\/news\/vibes-south-african-website-breached-just-days-after-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"Vibe’s South African Website Breached Just Days After Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wayne Diamond, the CEO of Domains.co.za, disclosed that a client’s new website was compromised just six days after its launch.<\/p>\n

The client utilized a widely-known AI tool to create the site, which made a significant error that went unchecked by a person, resulting in an insecure site.<\/p>\n

This incident underscores the dangers associated with AI-generated code as South Africa emerges as a leader in generative AI adoption, currently ranking 46th among 147 economies worldwide as of March 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur latest AI Diffusion report findings show that AI is moving rapidly from experimentation to practical, everyday use,\u201d stated Ravi Bhat, Commercial Solutions and AI Officer at Microsoft South Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor South Africa, the rise in local AI usage to over 23% is encouraging progress,\u201d Bhat mentioned in a report from AI Impact.<\/p>\n

The same report highlighted that South Africa boasts over 500,000 developers, ranking alongside Egypt and Nigeria, with an increasing use of AI among this group.<\/p>\n

These developers are turning to readily available AI tools like Anthropic\u2019s Claude Code to assist them in their projects, accelerate coding processes, and troubleshoot issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder relentless delivery pressure and a persistent shortage of senior developers, these AI companions seem like the perfect solution,\u201d said Rennie Naidoo, research director at Wits Business School.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeneath the surface of this transformation lies a mounting concern that speed is seducing us into complacency, and that convenience is coming at the cost of security, reliability and deep understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naidoo described “vibe coding” as the increasing inclination among developers to accept AI-generated code with little to no examination, relying on it to function without checking for errors.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike flying on autopilot without checking the instruments, it works brilliantly until it doesn\u2019t. The risk isn\u2019t hypothetical,\u201d he noted in a blog post for CIO South Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch from Veracode and multiple academic studies shows that nearly half of AI-generated code contains known vulnerabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vibe's
Wayne Diamond, Domains.co.za CEO.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a recent LinkedIn post<\/a>, Diamond explained how a client’s website was breached after they opted to use an AI tool to create it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019d chosen not to use our website builder. They\u2019d built the site themselves with one of the popular AI tools: free and impressive,\u201d Diamond noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looked great and sort of worked. I say sort of because the design was nice, but not much else worked. Then it was gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the site was compromised, its owners contacted the support team at Domains.co.za for answers. Diamond mentioned that the cause was quickly identified.<\/p>\n

He explained that the AI tool had left the administrative password in the site\u2019s code in plain text, making it easy for anyone to access the password via developer tools.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo sophisticated attack. No zero-day exploit. The attackers just read the password and walked in through the front door,\u201d stated Diamond.<\/p>\n

\u201cHackers don\u2019t need to be clever. They know exactly which mistakes AI tools make, and they run automated scans for them around the clock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian Jansen van Rensburg, security engineering head for Africa at Check Point Software, indicated earlier this year that criminals specifically target sites built with Claude or Google\u2019s Gemini.<\/p>\n

These AI-driven threat actors can reveal the code behind these websites, providing criminals with avenues to exploit company systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden, there is an external-facing application, and hackers understand that code because their AI picked it up,\u201d Jansen van Rensburg explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cHackers are using AI, and their attacks are now at the speed of a machine and not a human. These things get exploited very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diamond emphasized that cybercriminals can identify AI-generated vulnerabilities in websites within hours of those sites being launched.<\/p>\n

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