Global website shutdowns following critical PHP security flaws

Thursday 22 October 2026 · 2 outlets · 3 reports · updated Thu 22 Oct, 5:00pm

Websites worldwide, including various government agencies, were shut down on Wednesday after AI identified critical security flaws in the PHP programming language. New Zealand's National Cybersecurity Centre is monitoring the situation as operators work to address the vulnerabilities.

How they headlined it

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1. NZ HeraldThu 22 Oct, 7:36am

   PHP issues: Websites go dark worldwide as AI exposes critical security flaws (opens in new tab)

   • NZ websites slow to patch against critical PHP vulnerability discovered by AI – consultant (opens in new tab)Premium Thu 22 Oct, 5:00pm
2. RNZThu 22 Oct, 10:38am

   Warning for NZ as websites go dark around world in security scare (opens in new tab)