AI Security Basics: Defending Against Prompt Injection — WalkSelf
4.6 (14) ⏱ 3h 📚 30 lessons 🎧 Audio version

AI Security Basics: Defending Against Prompt Injection

A beginner-friendly guide to understanding AI vulnerabilities, implementing prompt guardrails, and securing language models against malicious inputs.

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About this course

As artificial intelligence becomes central to software development, securing language models against malicious inputs is a critical skill. Are you ready to learn how to protect your applications from vulnerabilities like prompt injection? This text-based course introduces you to the foundational concepts of AI security. You will start by understanding what prompt injection is, how it works, and why it poses a threat to AI-driven applications. From there, you will explore practical, written examples of defensive strategies, including system prompt hardening, input validation, and modern guardrail implementations, ensuring your AI integrations remain safe and reliable. What you will learn: • Understand the core terminology and basic concepts of AI security and vulnerabilities. • Identify different types of prompt injection attacks and how they manipulate language models. • Apply defensive prompt engineering techniques to harden system instructions. • Implement modern guardrails and input/output validation patterns for AI applications. • Explore fundamental security considerations for Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems. • Practice threat modeling for basic AI integrations through written exercises. The course flows logically from introductory definitions and core AI security principles to practical, text-based defensive techniques. You will read through clear explanations and examine code and prompt snippets to build a strong mental model of secure AI development. Designed entirely for beginners and developers new to AI security, this course requires no prior cybersecurity experience. Start reading today to build the foundational skills needed to secure modern AI applications.

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Reviews (14)

عبد الوهاب بن حسن SA Verified learner
★ 5 · July 24, 2026

كنت أسمع كثيراً عن هجمات حقن الأوامر دون أن أفهم كيف تحدث فعلاً، وهذه الدورة أزالت كل الغموض بطريقة مبسطة ومناسبة للمبتدئين. تعلمت كيف يمكن استغلال نماذج اللغة عبر مدخلات خبيثة، والأهم كيف أبني حواجز حماية للأوامر تمنع ذلك. أعجبني بشكل خاص الجزء العملي الذي يعرض أمثلة حقيقية على المدخلات الضارة وطرق التصدي لها. بعد إنهاء الدورة أصبحت أكثر ثقة في تأمين أي تطبيق يعتمد على الذكاء الاصطناعي. أنصح بها بشدة لكل من يريد أساساً متيناً في أمن النماذج اللغوية.

Елена Васильева RU Verified learner
★ 5 · July 18, 2026

Проходил этот курс, чтобы разобраться в теме безопасности ИИ, и остался очень доволен подачей материала. Тема prompt injection объясняется буквально по полочкам, с конкретными примерами того, как злоумышленник может обмануть модель через хитро составленный запрос. Особенно понравился практический блок, где нужно самому настроить базовую защиту, а потом попытаться её обойти — это здорово закрепляет понимание. Темп подачи комфортный даже для тех, кто раньше вообще не занимался безопасностью. После курса стало гораздо легче читать статьи и обсуждения на эту тему без ощущения, что теряешь нить. Однозначно рекомендую тем, кто только начинает разбираться в уязвимостях ИИ-систем.

Hugo Girard BE
★ 5 · July 17, 2026

Excellente introduction à la sécurité des prompts.

อรุณี ศรีทอง TH Verified learner
★ 4 · July 13, 2026

เข้าใจง่าย เนื้อหากระชับและมีประโยชน์

Ethan Garcia PH Verified learner
★ 5 · July 10, 2026

Bilang baguhan sa AI security, takot ako noon sa mga terminong parang prompt injection, pero ginawang napakalinaw ng kursong ito. Naintindihan ko kung paano naa-abuso ang mga language model at, mas mahalaga, kung paano maglagay ng guardrails para protektahan sila. Ang ganda na may konkretong halimbawa ng mga malisyosong input at kung paano ito hadlangan. Nagawa ko nang mag-test ng sarili kong prompt defenses pagkatapos ng kurso. Talagang inirerekomenda ko ito sa kahit sinong nagsisimula pa lang sa pagseseguro ng AI.

Vũ Văn Hùng VN Verified learner
★ 4 · July 8, 2026

Mình học khóa này vì muốn hiểu rõ hơn về các lỗ hổng bảo mật khi làm việc với AI, và khóa học đáp ứng khá tốt nhu cầu đó. Phần giải thích về prompt injection rất dễ hiểu ngay cả với người mới bắt đầu như mình, có nhiều ví dụ thực tế minh họa cách kẻ xấu có thể khai thác lỗ hổng này. Các bài tập thực hành xây dựng lớp phòng thủ cho hệ thống AI cũng khá thú vị và sát với công việc thực tế. Điểm trừ nhỏ là một số phần nâng cao hơi lướt qua nhanh, mình phải tự tìm hiểu thêm để nắm chắc. Nhìn chung đây là điểm khởi đầu tốt cho ai mới quan tâm đến bảo mật AI.

خليفة بن جاسم بن محمد آل ثاني QA Verified learner
★ 5 · July 4, 2026

شرح واضح ومنظم لمفهوم حقن الأوامر وكيفية الدفاع عنه بوضع حواجز للحماية. الأمثلة العملية على المدخلات الخبيثة ساعدتني كثيراً على فهم المخاطر الحقيقية. دورة ممتازة لكل مبتدئ يريد تأمين نماذج الذكاء الاصطناعي.

Romain Michel MC Verified learner
★ 4 · July 3, 2026

Ce cours donne une bonne base pour comprendre comment fonctionnent les attaques par injection de prompt sur les systèmes d'IA. Les exemples concrets rendent le sujet beaucoup plus accessible qu'une simple lecture théorique. J'aurais aimé un peu plus de détails sur les techniques de défense avancées, mais ça reste une excellente introduction.

Mustafa Çelik TR
★ 5 · June 30, 2026

Prompt injection saldırılarının nasıl çalıştığını ve bunlara karşı nasıl savunma kurulacağını gerçekten anlaşılır şekilde anlatan bir kurs.

Necati Aydın TR
★ 4 · June 29, 2026

Yapay zeka güvenliği konusuna hiç aşina değildim ve bu kurs gayet iyi bir başlangıç noktası oldu. Prompt injection saldırılarının nasıl işlediğini gerçek örneklerle anlatması konuyu çok daha somut hale getiriyor. Uygulamalı bölümde kendi savunma mekanizmanı kurup sonra onu kırmaya çalışman öğrenmeyi gerçekten pekiştiriyor. Bazı ileri seviye konular biraz hızlı geçiliyor, o yüzden kendi başıma ek araştırma yapmam gerekti. Yine de temel kavramları net şekilde oturtan sağlam bir kurs. Yapay zeka sistemleriyle çalışan herkese başlangıç için öneririm.

Ginevra Bruno IT Verified learner
★ 5 · June 20, 2026

Corso chiaro sulla sicurezza dei prompt.

Dương Thị Ngọc VN Verified learner
★ 5 · June 18, 2026

Khóa học giải thích prompt injection theo cách rất dễ hình dung, không hề khô khan như mình tưởng lúc đầu. Phần thực hành xây dựng cơ chế phòng thủ cho hệ thống AI giúp mình hiểu sâu hơn nhiều so với chỉ đọc lý thuyết suông. Rất phù hợp cho người mới bắt đầu tìm hiểu về an toàn AI.

Anna Müller CH Verified learner
★ 5 · June 17, 2026

Ich habe den Kurs belegt, um endlich zu verstehen, was Prompt Injection eigentlich genau bedeutet, und die Erklärungen waren erfreulich verständlich. Besonders gut fand ich, wie die einzelnen Angriffsmuster anhand realistischer Beispiele durchgegangen werden, statt nur trockene Theorie zu präsentieren. Der praktische Teil, in dem man selbst einfache Schutzmechanismen implementiert und danach testet, hat mir am meisten gebracht. Auch als Einsteiger ohne Sicherheitshintergrund konnte ich gut folgen, das Tempo war angenehm. Am Ende hatte ich das Gefühl, wirklich zu verstehen, worauf man bei KI-Systemen achten muss. Für alle, die beruflich mit KI zu tun haben, eine klare Empfehlung.

Esther Ojo NG Verified learner
★ 4 · May 27, 2026

I went into this course knowing almost nothing about AI security and came out with a solid grasp of how prompt injection actually works. The explanations of different attack patterns are broken down clearly, using realistic scenarios rather than abstract theory. I especially liked the hands-on section where you build basic defenses and then try to break your own setup to test them. The pacing is friendly for beginners, though a couple of the later lessons move faster than the earlier ones. It would have been nice to see more coverage of newer attack variants, but as a foundation it's genuinely solid. Overall a good starting point if you work anywhere near AI systems and want to understand the risks.

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