PHP PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
AI sharpens cat-and-mouse hacking battle as companies strengthen defences
From hacked supermarket fridges and a record cryptocurrency theft at Binance to an emergency over flaws in widely used web software, companies worldwide are facing a wave of cyber threats executives say AI is accelerating
AI turns cyber threat into boardroom crisis
In India, State Bank of India disclosed that 375,000 customer records had been leaked on the dark web, while vulnerabilities in eMudhra’s digital certificate keys exposed websites to potential attacks.
Govt mulls giving Cert-In enforceable powers to mandate patching
Last month, two critical flaws in the PHP programming language, discovered with the help of AI, created worldwide panic as hackers targeted the vulnerabilities millions of times, and led to governments including the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan taking down public websites. PHP powers 69.3% of websites worldwide.
Largescale cyberattacks test the limits of insurance cover
While businesses rush to enhance their cyber insurance cover, the incidents have triggered a debate over whether existing policies adequately cover emerging cyber risks. The biggest question insurers are policyholders seem to be confronting is: who pays when a vulnerability exposes thousands of organisations to the same threat?
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sees AI-led software overhaul amid PHP security concerns
The discussion comes just days after two critical security flaws in PHP were disclosed. PHP is a programming language that runs websites. It works behind the scenes. When a user loads a page, the server running PHP assembles the content and sends the finished page to the browser.
PHP scare sparks calls for urgent corp DPDP audits to plug all gaps
The incidents underline the need to identify gaps in companies’ security practices and clarify what constitutes reasonable safeguards before the law takes effect, they said. The DPDP Act is being implemented in phases, with a May 2027 deadline for full compliance obligations.
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Social media norms, AI, deepfakes, chips among others on review list of parliamentary panel in 2026-27
The development comes as several incidents of age-inappropriate content, circulation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and alleged censorship on social media have been reported widely.

Prioritise understanding AI security threats, even before productivity: OpenAI's Sam Altman to cos
"If I could recommend only one thing to a company right now to do with AI in the very short term, even more than become super productive with Codex (OpenAI's AI coding tool), it would be to really understand the security threat landscape from AI and mitigate against that," Altman said.

Anthropic IPO rocks Indian IT; Why Walmart is in no hurry to list Flipkart
Anthropic’s US IPO filing sent Indian IT stocks lower on Tuesday. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.

Indian patch patrol sets out to resolve PHP risk
Two critical security flaws in PHP, the programming language underpinning an estimated 70% of the internet, have triggered emergency cybersecurity measures in India. Banks are auditing applications and preparing backups, while the government is patching official websites. Razorpay has deployed AI-led vulnerability detection and warned merchants about potential breaches.

Cert-In and states rush to patch PHP flaws across govt portals
Last week, two critical cybersecurity flaws in the PHP programming language were discovered with the help of AI. Subsequently, Cert-In issued advised organisations to apply security patches. Thousands of state government portals, district administration websites, municipal corporation services, and public grievance redressal systems in India have historically relied on content management systems and frameworks based on the PHP programming language.

Prevention CERT-Inly better than cure
India is responding to cybersecurity challenges posed by the recent eMudhra incident and PHP vulnerabilities. Government agencies are conducting audits and investigations to strengthen digital security. The country is experiencing heightened cybersecurity risks due to its digital transformation and existing framework gaps. There are also concerns about unutilized funds and a shortage of cybersecurity talent. A broader approach is needed for transformative improvements in managing cybersecurity effectively.

Japanese companies compensate users as cyberattacks buffet economy
GMO Internet Group said customers would be compensated for losses stemming from unauthorised access following a cyberattack on its foreign exchange trading service, and all customers would receive 5,000 yen ($32) as "an initial gesture of good faith," CEO Masatoshi Kumagai said in a blog post on Sunday.

'Tech debt coming due': AI-found flaw signals chaos ahead
The vulnerability to potential hackers was found by using a powerful model from OpenAI in one of the most high-profile demonstration of AI's cyber capabilities.

AI is finding software flaws faster, and so are hackers: Inside the PHP scramble
Governments and companies across Europe and Asia have taken services offline while they patch two vulnerabilities that researchers discovered with AI models, as exploitation attempts rise into the millions.

Global cyber alert rings as two critical PHP flaws leave millions of web services exposed to remote takeover
Two significant vulnerabilities in the PHP programming language could allow hackers to execute code remotely. PHP has released updates to address these flaws, which affect millions of internet-facing services. Many installations remain unpatched, including those running outdated versions. Security experts warn that nearly all PHP installations face security risks from these vulnerabilities. Organizations are urged to implement immediate patches and isolate affected systems from public networks.

PHP Foundation 'under-funded' with one full-time staff member, director says
The discovery of two serious flaws in PHP this week set off a global scramble to keep websites safe from hackers, showing just how critical the three-decade-old open-source programming language is to the internet.

AI-discovered bugs may soon trigger fresh disruptions, cyber experts say
AI helped drive a doubling of the number of digital flaws discovered year-on-year, according to research due to be published in the coming days by VulnCheck, a Massachusetts-based threat intelligence firm.

PHP security vulnerabilities: Indian govt rushes to fix official websites, banks audit apps
Banks have begun auditing applications for weaknesses, taking some non-critical services offline and preparing backups to divert traffic if parts of their websites or mobile applications experience downtime, according to executives.

Rush is on to patch a software vulnerability that could impact 70% of websites worldwide
Many government sites appeared to be functioning normally Thursday, but outages or limited service continued while security work was under way.

New York state issues alert over potential PHP vulnerabilities
New York has issued a warning related to critical PHP software vulnerabilities that pose significant risks. These vulnerabilities can allow unauthorized remote code execution and access to sensitive data. The state department advises regulated entities to locate and fix these vulnerabilities promptly. This action is necessary to protect their information systems against potential exploitation. Entities must take immediate steps to ensure the security of their operations and data.

What is a PHP vulnerability? Security flaws prompt shutdowns of major websites amid global cybersecurity response
Two critical vulnerabilities in PHP have prompted the shutdown of several websites across multiple countries. Cybersecurity teams are actively working to secure these potentially affected systems using emergency fixes provided by the PHP Foundation. Major organizations, including Wikimedia and government sites in Finland and the Netherlands, have taken precautions. Researchers utilized artificial intelligence to identify these security flaws, showcasing both its benefits and risks.

Explained: What is PHP and why did it take government websites offline?
The developers of PHP said on Wednesday they would release patches for two critical vulnerabilities, and EU cybersecurity officials warned organisations unable to apply the fixes to take affected websites offline. Here is what you need to know:


ETtech Explainer: How a flaw in PHP, the code behind 70% of websites, sent governments offline
Since PHP powers 70% of the world’s websites, the vulnerabilities can allow unauthenticated attackers to execute code on affected servers or read sensitive process memory, which may contain passwords, authentication tokens, API keys and certificates belonging to other requests or the server itself, as per Wiz Research.

How an AI model discovered critical safety flaws in government websites
A significant number of websites, including those managed by the French government and Wikimedia, faced downtime due to identified vulnerabilities in PHP, a popular web development language. Cybersecurity experts from Wiz and Calif employed AI to pinpoint these urgent flaws. In response, PHP developers swiftly issued patches, urging users to promptly update their systems.

Cloudflare sees millions of exploit attempts after PHP disclosure
Cloud services firm Cloudflare saw millions of exploitation attempts after the public disclosure of critical vulnerabilities in the widely used programming language PHP, CEO Matthew

Government websites in Europe, US go dark over AI-detected flaw in a web programming language PHP
The website of the Finnish government, for one, was only partly available Wednesday. A message to visitors said government websites were experiencing a temporary disruption and were fully or partially unavailable while the issue was being resolved.

Multiple websites go offline after critical PHP security flaw; FBI urges immediate updates. Here's what you should do
In light of critical vulnerabilities discovered in PHP, numerous websites have been taken offline. The FBI has strongly recommended that organizations either update their PHP installations or disconnect vulnerable systems. Cybersecurity experts warn that these flaws pose a significant risk of data theft and cyberattacks. In response, website administrators are implementing urgent maintenance. Users are encouraged to exercise caution and adhere to online safety protocols.
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