Government websites go dark after AI-discovered flaw sparks security scramble

A screen displays an unavailable Dutch government website, as cyber agencies warn that websites may be taken offline while PHP prepares a critical fix on Wednesday. | REUTERS

Reuters

Oct 22, 2026

Government websites in Europe and elsewhere went offline on Wednesday after the disclosure of critical vulnerabilities in a widely used programming language sent website operators around the world scrambling to protect their systems.

Developers of the PHP programming language on Wednesday released urgent new fixes to vulnerabilities that had quietly been lurking in their software for years until they were uncovered using AI, saying that all users were “encouraged to update immediately.”

With tech firms warning that some hackers were already exploiting the flaws, government agencies across Europe were among those that took sites offline as a precaution.

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