Zoe Kleinman: PHP is the cyber equivalent of an unexploded bomb
Source: BBC ·
It has been a dramatic, public and global response, but the cyber event hasn't happened yet.
From the source
Cyber-security flaws were recently identified in the popular PHP programming language, which is used on a vast number of websites across the world I once worked opposite a site where a shopping centre was being built. We were warned there might be unexploded bombs from World War Two unearthed during the construction. In the end, there were none, but procedures were put in place as a precaution and we all had to practice filing into designated safe zones inside our building. The PHP story feels like the cyber equivalent of an unexploded bomb - I have never seen such a dramatic, public and global response to a cyber event that hasn't happened yet. There has been no painful attack like the ransomware we saw knock out M&S and JLR in 2025. But the potential threat is so serious that websites around the world have been taken down as a precaution. Less than two months ago , 100 tech companies wrote an open letter warning the world to adopt a new level of cyber resilience in the age of AI.…