'It's been relentless' say IT workers on frontline of PHP cyber security scramble
IT professionals are struggling to manage a critical security vulnerability in the PHP programming language. The emergency has forced administrators to work long hours to patch systems or take websites offline to prevent exploitation.
Why it matters
PHP powers a vast portion of the internet, making this vulnerability a significant threat to global digital infrastructure.
Figure caption, How did AI discover the internet's massive cyber-security risk?
Microsoft boss Satya Nadella says he has not seen anything like the PHP emergency "in a long, long time".
Referencing the ongoing global efforts to fix the critical cyber-security flaw in millions of websites, he told a conference "it was a long day and a long night, I know, for all the IT and security folks".
Other IT and cyber experts have told the BBC about their struggles in the last 48 hours, whose stories give us an insight into what it is like at the coalface of a major cyber emergency. But also highlight how misinformation and panic has made things a lot worse.
"It's been relentless," says UK-based system administrator Adam Mudd.
He said he had never had so many messages from people who were worried about their websites.
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