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# The Developer Workstation Blind Spot: Why Your Security Stack Can't See What Matters Most


- **Date:** Friday, Jul 10, 2026
- **Time:** 11:40–12:10 (30 min)
- **Room:** Stage 10 - powered by TikTok
- **Event:** World Congress 2026 Europe

## Recording

[Watch recording](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100254-the-developer-workstation-blind-spot-why-your-security-stack-can-t-see-what-matters-most)

## Description

Your security team has visibility into cloud infrastructure, endpoints, and network traffic. But what about your developers' laptops, where the code actually gets written?

In this talk, I'll break down the emerging blind spot that most security programs miss: the developer workstation.

With 60k+ VS Code extensions, 13k+ MCP servers, and AI coding tools that can access file systems and credentials, the attack surface on developer machines has exploded. Meanwhile, 35% of engineers use AI tools via personal accounts, and extension malware detections increased 4x year-over-year.

I'll cover:
- How AI-driven development created new attack vectors (prompt injection → tool invocation → IDE exploitation)
- Real examples of malicious extensions and MCP server vulnerabilities
- Why EDR and SCA aren't enough, and what's missing
- Practical approaches to gaining visibility without slowing developers down

This isn't about blocking tools or slowing adoption. It's about seeing what's actually running so you can make informed decisions.

Attendees hopefully will leave with a clear understanding of the problem and actionable steps to assess their own exposure.

## Speaker

### [Marcus Wermuth](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@marcus-wermuth)

VP of R&D at Safety Cybersecurity


## Related talks at this congress

- [Checkmate: 5 Real Incidents That Can End a Software Company](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/1442-checkmate-5-real) — Jasmin Azemović
- [GenAI Is a Junior Dev With Root Access](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/1213-genai-is-a-junior) — Julian Totzek-Hallhuber
- [Theia AI Live Demo: Air Gapped AI for Developer Tools and IDEs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/1275-theia-ai-live-demo) — Thomas Froment
- [One Pipeline, Three Regulator - SBOM Compliance for the Developer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/1178-one-pipeline-three) — Marcus Ross