WordPress Security in the Age of AI: What Small Site Owners Actually Need to Do

AI has changed website security. It can now scan software for weaknesses faster than any human, and it’s being used by attackers and defenders alike. Flaws that stayed hidden for years are being found in weeks, and attacks can follow within hours of a fix being announced. Recent events (some are already calling it “Black October”) showed how quickly this can hit even well-known plugins and the PHP that WordPress runs on.
For the average site owner, the advice has been confusing. Much of it comes from companies selling expensive “solutions,” and it’s hard to tell what’s actually urgent and what’s marketing.
This month we’ll try to cut through the noise together:

• How AI is changing the speed and scale of attacks on WordPress, and how it’s being used on the defense side
• Why plugins, themes and older code are where most of the risk lives
• Who is responsible for what: your host, plugin developers, WordPress.org, and you
• Practical, low-cost steps that make a real difference, and what you can safely skip
• How to tell if a site has been compromised, and what to do first if it has

As always, this is a round table, not a lecture. Bring your questions, your experiences, and your war stories. Has a plugin update surprised you? Are you rethinking auto-updates? How do you keep up when new vulnerabilities appear every week?
You’ll leave with a simple “check your site” checklist and a list of trustworthy sources to follow, no sales pitch included.
All levels welcome, whether you manage one site or fifty.