We've been through shifts like this before

Whenever a new class of attack tools appears, there is an uncomfortable stretch where existing websites and applications are caught flat-footed. If you have worked around the web for a while, you have watched this movie at least twice before.

Plaintext logins and SQL injection in the 2000s

Twenty years ago, most small-business websites sent passwords over unencrypted HTTP and concatenated user input straight into database queries. Once automated tools made exploiting those flaws trivial, the industry responded with parameterized queries in every modern framework and free, automated TLS certificates through Let's Encrypt. Whole categories of routine compromise largely dried up on newly built sites.

Open cloud buckets in the 2010s

When companies first moved file storage to the cloud, default settings made it easy to leave an S3 bucket or storage blob readable by the entire internet. Attackers wrote scripts to scan for them at scale. Within a few years, cloud providers flipped the defaults to block public access unless an administrator clicked through multiple warnings.

Autonomous AI agents in the 2020s

We are in that same transition window today with AI. Attackers can now run patient, autonomous agents that test business logic, role permissions, and AI chatbots across thousands of smaller companies that never used to be targets. Meanwhile, most production web apps were built before teams thought to test for those paths.

Just like TLS and cloud storage, frameworks and defaults are catching up fast. The goal for a small or mid-size business right now is simple: don't be the easy target during the transition window. Have your systems tested, close the gaps, confirm the fixes with a re-scan, and move on with your work. Scope a review with our team.