{
  "id": 16184577,
  "title": "'It's been relentless' say IT workers on frontline of PHP cyber-security scramble",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/its-been-relentless-say-it-workers-on-frontline-of-php-cyber-security",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-23T12:00:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC Technology",
    "slug": "bbc-technology",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cxnv025d8qpmo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella described the ongoing global efforts to fix a critical cyber-security flaw in millions of websites as unlike anything he's ever experienced. The flaw, discovered in the PHP programming language that powers countless websites, led to a worldwide scramble to download a security fix or take websites offline. IT professionals shared their experiences with the BBC, revealing a relentless 48-hour battle fueled by misinformation and panic. UK system administrator Adam Mudd said he had never faced such a high volume of worried clients, with some urging to take their sites offline. He worked late hours to secure his customers' systems. IT administrator Loganaden Velvindron in Mauritius struggled to update web apps and change code due to many versions of PHP being end-of-life. Jon Jones, a technical director for a digital advertising company, likened the situation to an action movie, as the PHP Foundation released a software fix amid rumors of cyber-criminals attempting attacks. However, experts questioned the validity of these rumors. Despite government agencies issuing warnings, including the Prime Minister of Japan, no evidence of large-scale data breaches or cyber-attacks was found. AI was used to discover the PHP flaws hidden for decades, and while AI poses future risks, many in the industry worry about potential \"alert fatigue\" as these vulnerabilities become more frequent.",
  "summary": "IT and cyber experts have told the BBC about their struggles in the last 48 hours to update their systems.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "TechCentral",
        "title": "PHP flaws trigger global scramble as hackers pounce",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/php-flaws-trigger-global-scramble-as-hackers-pounce",
        "published": "2026-10-22T05:17:37.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "GBC Ghana",
        "title": "What is PHP and why did it spark a global cyber-security scramble?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/what-is-php-and-why-did-it-spark-a-global-cyber-security-scramble-16023021",
        "published": "2026-10-22T09:13:04.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}