Wiz Research announced on Wednesday that the cybersecurity firm had used OpenAI technology to discover security flaws in PHP. The programming language supports some 70 percent of websites worldwide. AI technology is being credited with helping avert a global cybersecurity crisis this week.
Wiz Research warned that exploiting the flaws could let attackers control affected servers, steal sensitive information and alter websites hosted on those servers. OpenAI described the vulnerability as among the most consequential security flaws in recent memory. Wiz Research ranked the findings among the gravest vulnerabilities in PHP and potentially in software history. Wiz Research said teams developed a fix before public disclosure, and websites can now use the fix for protection.
CloudFlare head Matthew Prince said the cybersecurity firm detected tens of thousands of exploitation attempts within the first 45 minutes after discovery. Prince said on Thursday that the number of attempts had reached millions. Corporations and governments, from the U.K. to Japan, are rushing to stop hackers from exploiting the flaws.
Numerous websites and pages have been taken offline over the past few days as countries sought to prevent cyberattacks. The U.S. National Security Agency urged organizations using PHP to remain especially alert during the coming weeks. The U.K.'s National Cyber Security Centre urged organizations to update websites immediately to the latest version containing the fix. Dozens of government services in Britain and Finland went offline this week. Many local government websites in France were briefly taken offline. China's Industry Ministry urged entities to examine security weaknesses.
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi urgently called on everyone to act. Takaichi said temporarily suspending websites could effectively reduce risk when applying the patch promptly is difficult.
PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor. Wiz Research said PHP has supported much of the internet since the 1990s. Wiz Research said the flaws had existed for decades. Wiz Research said proving that the flaws could be exploited required an extraordinarily complicated sequence approaching the practical limits of human researchers. Wiz Research said AI models substantially lowered that barrier, making exploitation of a longstanding flaw possible.
PHP Security Flaws Affect 70% of Websites, Trigger Global Hacking Surge
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Summary
CFT officials warn of rising cyber threats as PHP security flaws impact 70% of websites, sparking a global hacking surge. Exploits hit millions within hours, forcing liquidity and crypto markets to brace for fallout. Governments including the U.S. and U.K. urged immediate action, while France, Finland, and Britain shut key sites. The NSA and NCSC called for patched versions.
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