In an illustration picture taken on October 23, 2026 shows the PHP logo on a smartphone screen and a computer code on a laptop screen.Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

Inside the cyber flaw scramble that brought the AI threat to life  – POLITICO

by · POLITICO

The exposure was immense, with AI multiplying the risks — and yet time-tested global cybersecurity procedures appeared to be functioning. Then suddenly, it all broke down.        

The decision by a cybersecurity company on Wednesday to prematurely release information about a flaw in the popular PHP computer programming language left much of the web exposed to hackers, triggering a panic that brought to life months of warnings of how the AI-powered era could cause widespread damage.

The flaws in PHP, discovered using AI tools through a months-long process coordinated by OpenAI, caused cyber agencies across Europe, the U.S., the U.K., Australia and Canada to post urgent warnings Wednesday. Numerous governments took websites offline as a precaution.