{
  "id": 15915458,
  "title": "Websites go dark worldwide as AI exposes critical security flaws",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/websites-go-dark-worldwide-as-ai-exposes-critical-security-flaws-15915458",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-21T16:05:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2026/10/1560951/websites-go-dark-worldwide-ai-exposes-critical-security-flaws"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Wednesday, websites worldwide went dark as two critical flaws in PHP, a programming language that forms the foundation of a significant portion of the internet, were exposed. The US National Security Agency advised organizations to patch the vulnerabilities immediately or disable vulnerable systems. These flaws often provide attackers with direct access to the server's file system or database, enabling them to take over web servers without a password. PHP underpins numerous popular web design platforms, meaning the weaknesses could affect a vast array of websites, ranging from online stores and news outlets to government services.\n\nThe discovery of these flaws came during a surge in software security disclosures, with the number of vulnerabilities found in 2026 expected to nearly double 2025's record total, driven by increasingly powerful AI models. Security firm Calif and ChatGPT creator OpenAI independently reported the flaws in August, and Google-owned cloud security company Wiz later highlighted additional exploitation methods. The vulnerabilities had been privately disclosed to PHP developers prior to the public disclosure, but details leaked online the day before the scheduled release, leading to a rush to take websites offline.\n\nSeveral governments and organizations were affected, including the French National Cybersecurity Agency, which made local government websites inaccessible on Wednesday afternoon. The Netherlands saw its national digital identity service DigiD, the House of Representatives website, and the national cybersecurity center offline as a precaution. Belgium's foreign ministry temporarily took its websites offline, though no attacks had been recorded on Belgian sites by the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium.",
  "summary": "WASHINGTON: Government agencies and companies around the world shut down websites Wednesday after two critical flaws came to light involving PHP, a programming language that is the basis for a large share of the internet.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}