Hacking attempts rise after flaws found in program affecting 70 percent of websites
Governments around the world are rushing to implement safety measures after AI technology found 'severe' vulnerabilities in a key programming language called PHP.
Global firms and governments raced on Thursday to fix critical bugs in PHP, a programming language that powers much of the internet. Cloud companies reported a spike in hacking attempts following the disclosure of these vulnerabilities, with attacks reported even before fixes were available. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said millions of attempts to exploit the flaws had occurred in the hours after the news broke.
Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella described the incident as one of the most dramatic tests of the programming tools that underpin the web, highlighting the need for secure software as systems become more complex. Companies and governments took websites offline as a precaution, causing widespread disruptions. Japanese companies, banks and rail services suspended internet services temporarily, while the Japanese government partially curtailed online services.
The rapid response underscores the deep reliance on PHP, a decades-old language that few fully understand.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Maverick's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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