Councils and NHS boards take websites offline after security alert
Public bodies in Scotland, including NHS boards and local councils, temporarily took their websites offline following the discovery of a critical security vulnerability in the PHP programming language. The flaw was identified by researchers using AI-assisted analysis.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the fragility of global internet infrastructure and the dual role of AI in both discovering and potentially mitigating cyber threats.
Image source, Getty Images Published 21 October 2026 Updated 3 hours ago A number of Scotland's public bodies, including councils and health boards, took their websites offline after cyber-security flaws were identified in a programming language which underpins much of the internet.
The vulnerabilities were discovered by cyber-security researchers after apparently remaining undetected for years. Researchers said AI-assisted analysis helped identify the flaws.
Security updates were released on Wednesday, prompting governments and public bodies around the world to urge website operators to apply the fixes.
Several councils, NHS boards and other organisations, including the Care Inspectorate, were among those that temporarily suspended access to their websites.
Image caption, Six health board websites were down late on Wednesday but have since been brought back online
The problem has affected public bodies and businesses around the world, including the Finnish government and the BBC.
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Global Websites Go Dark After AI Uncovers Critical Programming Language Flaws
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