#1026 - WP-Tonic Show: Is AI Killing WordPress Security?

Is AI Killing WordPress Security? Is AI killing WordPress security or making it stronger? Discover how AI-powered threats and defenses are reshaping site protection in 2026 Patchstack's 2026 State of WordPress Security report found 11,334 new vulnerabilities across the WordPress ecosystem in 2025—a 42% jump over 2024—with 91% in plugins, not core (https://wp-umbrella.com/blog/ai-wordpress-security/). AI didn't create WordPress's plugin problem, but it may be pouring gasoline on it. Whether that's a death sentence for WordPress security or just a wake-up call is exactly what we dig into. Aaron D Campbell, VP of Product at Monarx. https://aarondcampbell.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-d-campbell https://www.monarx.com Aaron is an international speaker, open source advocate, and outgoing introvert. For the last 10 years, he has helped companies create and bring to market compelling, competitive product offerings for brands such as GoDaddy, Newfold Digital, A2Hosting, hosting.com, and now, as VP of Product at Monarx. He’s been a regular contributor to the WordPress open source project for nearly two decades and applies his knowledge of, and passion for, open source to align companies with those projects, improving their products and offerings while providing better, more secure open source solutions to their customers. ---------------------- Sponsors of The Show ------------------- Jetpack - https://f0k0.short.gy/97gIS8 Ninja Forms - https://f0k0.short.gy/97gIS8 WP-Rollover - https://f0k0.short.gy/97gIS8 LifterLMS - https://f0k0.short.gy/97gIS8 ---------------- ------------------ ------------------ ------------------ #1 - Your first WordPress Core patch got merged the same day back in 2007 - what did that teach you about how open source opens doors? #2 - As former lead of the WordPress Security Team, what's the biggest misconception people have about WordPress security? #3 - Monarx sells to hosts, but malware hits their customers' sites — how do you decide what to build when your buyer isn't the person feeling the pain? #4 - What's different about building product strategy for security tooling versus the CMS and hosting products you worked on earlier? #5 - What's one practical security habit you'd tell overwhelmed WordPress site owners to adopt this year? #6- Aaron, if you could go back to the beginning of your career journey, what advice would you give yourself? ---------------------- Sponsors of The Show ------------------- Jetpack - https://f0k0.short.gy/97gIS8 Ninja Forms - https://f0k0.short.gy/97gIS8 WP-Rollover - https://f0k0.short.gy/97gIS8 LifterLMS - https://f0k0.short.gy/97gIS8 ---------------- ------------------ ------------------ ------------------