OpenAI · Japan · European Union · White House · BBC Technology
Websites taken down worldwide as critical cyber-security update issued
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International governments and agencies have urged websites to address two critical cyber-security flaws in a programming language which powers much of the internet.
Key facts
- It is not yet clear which versions of the programming language are affected, but CERT-EU said it could affect all versions of it dating back to PHP 5 onwards
- which launched in 2004
- The PHP Foundation has issued the update only for the latest versions however
- with people using PHP 8.1 or older being urged to upgrade
- The Netherlands' National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, an agency of the Dutch government, has taken down its website
- Edinburgh council's website has also become inaccessible, as well as the online homes for several BBC programmes including Doctor Who and The Traitors
Summary
The vulnerabilities were found within the PHP programming language, with a fix issued on Wednesday afternoon. Multiple cyber-security agencies have urged organisations unable to apply fixes in time to consider taking their sites down, leading bodies such as the Finnish government, Edinburgh council and the BBC to take pages offline. The flaws were discovered by AI, with cyber-security firm Wiz saying they were the "most severe vulnerabilities ever discovered" by the tech, which is reshaping the cyber landscape. Finland has temporarily shut down the government's public web services, while the Netherlands' cyber-security agency said it was taking its own website offline due to the vulnerabilities.