How to use DeepSeek safely
0Ian Webster (Promptfoo) on DeepSeek’s Security Vulnerabilities
Ian Webster, founder of Promptfoo, joins a16z partner Joel de la Garza to break down the security risks embedded within DeepSeek’s reasoning model. As generative AI systems become more powerful, they also become more susceptible to attack. Ian explains how vulnerabilities like jailbreaks, backdoors, and model censorship can be exploited—and what developers and enterprises can do to defend against them. He also shares insights into how AI security testing is evolving, why transparency in model training matters, and what lessons companies can take from past security breaches to safeguard the next wave of AI applications.
Learn more:
What Are the Security Risks of Deploying DeepSeek-R1?
https://www.promptfoo.dev/blog/deepseek-redteam/
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Ian Webster - https://x.com/iwebst
Joel de la Garza - https://www.linkedin.com/in/3448827723723234/
Check out everything a16z is doing with artificial intelligence, including articles, projects, and more podcasts, here: https://a16z.com/ai/
01:11 - DeepSeek: The Golden Age of AI or an existential threat?
02:18 - Red team testing, prompt injections, jail brakes - adversarial techniques
02:48 - Speech limitations
04:14 - Maturity and complexity of DeepSeek vs. other models
05:36 - Anything you build on top of DeepSeek will be subject to its insecurities
06:12 - Hosted model from China vs. open source/running locally
07:46 - DeepSeek benchmark on politically sensitive topics
08:54 - Western censorship vs. DeepSeek censorship
12:38 - How can we use it safely? Protecting infrastructure
14:09 - Wait for a more trusted source to run locally?