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What Is PHP? Why Are Government and Business Websites Going Offline?

NYT - Top Stories

By: Karla Adam and Dustin Volz

22 October 2026 at 16:55

A critical security flaw in the programming language underpinning much of the web has prompted a global rush to patch vulnerable systems.

A programmer in Guernica, Spain, on Thursday, working on PHP code, software used throughout the internet.

PHP Security Flaw Sets Off Global Rush to Patch, Leaving Websites Offline

NYT - Top Stories

By: Lynsey Chutel · Amelia Nierenberg and Brian O. Otieno

22 October 2026 at 17:01

Governments and businesses around the world scrambled to prevent hackers from exploiting a vulnerability in PHP, a popular programming language.

Prime Minister Rob Jetten of the Netherlands in Brussels last week. He said that his cabinet was closely monitoring the online vulnerability caused by a security flaw in PHP.

A.I. Discovered a Critical Vulnerability in PHP, a Coding Language Behind Many Websites

NYT - Top Stories

By: Dustin Volz

21 October 2026 at 20:04

The disclosure heightened concerns about A.I.’s potential to upend cybersecurity unless shortcomings are addressed.

The website for the French government was temporarily unavailable on Wednesday amid hacking concerns stemming from major bugs in a piece of software used widely across the internet.