{
  "id": 16047104,
  "title": "Millions of hacking attempts as companies, govts rush to patch PHP flaws",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/millions-of-hacking-attempts-as-companies-govts-rush-to-patch-php",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-22T12:29:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/10/22/millions-of-hacking-attempts-as-companies-governments-rush-to-patch-php-flaws"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Companies and governments worldwide scrambled on Thursday to patch critical flaws in the widely used PHP programming language after cybersecurity firm Aikido Security reported millions of hacking attempts following the vulnerabilities' disclosure. The emergency measures followed website shutdowns by various organizations, including banks, airlines, rail, tax, and government services, in Tokyo, Helsinki, and beyond. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella emphasized the importance of creating secure digital systems during a Cologne, Germany, event. PHP developers released urgent fixes for the year-old vulnerabilities, urging users to update immediately. The flaws became public before fixes were available, leading to attacks exploiting the weaknesses, according to Aikido Security co-founder Madeline Lawrence. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince reported a surge in hacking attempts, jumping from thousands to millions within hours of the flaw's public disclosure. Companies and governments in Japan, France, and South Korea took precautionary measures, including website suspensions and cybersecurity inspections, as the stakes of the rapid patching race became increasingly clear.",
  "summary": "Critical vulnerabilities in the widely used programming language prompted precautionary website shutdowns worldwide as hacking attempts surged before security fixes were available.",
  "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."
}