Share to ClassroomAI Finds PHP Problems, Websites Go Offline
Websites around the world went offline after experts found two serious security problems in PHP. PHP is a programming language, a set of instructions that computers use to build websites. The group that looks after PHP released a fix on Wednesday 21 October. Security groups in the US and the UK told organisations to turn off their systems if they could not update them quickly. Finland closed some government websites, and parts of the BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation) website also went offline.
The problems, called "PHP2Shell", could let attackers take control of a computer that runs a website, without logging in. They could then steal information. The security company Wiz says about 70% of the internet is affected, but the BBC could not check this number. The problems were hidden for more than ten years. Researchers found them with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Details appeared online one day before the fix was ready.
Hackers acted fast. Cloudflare, a big internet company, saw thousands of attempts to attack websites before the news came out, and millions after. One expert said the hardest job is finding every system that uses PHP. Japan's leader asked people to check their websites. A security leader at the AI company Anthropic warned that things will get worse before they get better.
