Companies and governments around the world rushed on Thursday to patch critical flaws in PHP, the programming language that underpins much of the internet, as cloud firms reported a surge in hacking attempts following the disclosure of the vulnerabilities.
Cyber attack (Credits: Insurance Journal)
The scramble came after governments in Europe and elsewhere took websites offline as a precaution on Wednesday, while operators hurried to secure systems running the software. Banking, airline, rail, tax and government services from Tokyo to Helsinki were temporarily suspended in what reports describe as one of the most dramatic tests yet of the decades-old tools that keep the web running.
PHP Flaws: Why the Patch Rush Is So Urgent
PHP’s developers released fixes on October 20 for vulnerabilities that had lurked in the software for years until they were uncovered using AI, urging users to “update immediately.” But details of the flaws became public before fixes were ready in some cases, and attacks have been reported since, according to cybersecurity researchers.
“Companies are racing to update against attackers who can use AI to exploit them. That’s the whole race,” said Madeline Lawrence, co-founder of Belgian cybersecurity firm Aikido Security. Cloudflare chief executive Matthew Prince said attempts jumped from thousands in the 10 hours before public announcement to tens of thousands within 45 minutes of it, then hundreds of thousands within two hours — and millions since. Amazon also reported widespread exploitation.
Services Suspended From Tokyo to Helsinki
Japanese companies including brokerage Nomura, lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, airline ANA and East Japan Railway said on October 21 they had temporarily suspended some internet services as emergency measures. Brewer Asahi Group Holdings suspended certain websites and systems for a security assessment, and insurer Tokio Marine Holdings also suspended services.
Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said at an event in Germany on October 21 that he had “not seen anything like this in a long, long time,” adding that the incident showed the importance of building software that can be maintained securely as systems grow more complex. For IT and security teams, he acknowledged, “it was a long day and a long night.”
Also Read: Cognition Open-Sources Devin Plugin to Patch PHP, Node.js and GitLab’s Critical Security Flaws and Magazine Pocket, K MANGA, MANGA Plus and More Hit by Emergency Maintenance Over Critical PHP Flaws
Source: Insurance Journal — read the full story there.
