Millions of hacking attempts. Banks, airlines, government agencies worldwide are shutting down online services due to PHP security flaws
Companies and government agencies are urgently updating software, and some websites are being taken offline to protect against hacking. According to Cloudflare, after the disclosure of two critical vulnerabilities in PHP, the number of attempts to exploit them has grown to millions. Restrictions have also affected Belarusian websites.
PHP is a programming language used by many websites and online services. The errors discovered in it could allow attackers to execute malicious code on the server without authorization. This poses a threat to websites regardless of which company or institution they belong to, Reuters writes.
Developers released urgent fixes on October 21 and urged immediate installation. However, administrators need not only to update the software but also to verify that everything works afterward. Therefore, some services are temporarily being shut down.
From thousands of attempts to millions — in a few hours
Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince reported that attempts to exploit the vulnerabilities were recorded even before their public announcement. After the disclosure of information, the number of such attempts sharply increased.
"Ten hours before the public announcement, we saw thousands of attempts to exploit the vulnerability in our network. 45 minutes after the announcement, their number grew to tens of thousands, in two hours — to hundreds of thousands, and now — to millions," he wrote.
This is the number of attack attempts, not successfully hacked websites.
Banks, carriers, and government services are being shut down
In Japan, financial companies Nomura and Mitsubishi UFJ, airline ANA, and railway carrier East Japan Railway announced the temporary suspension of some internet services. Restrictions were also introduced by the Ministry of Finance, the meteorological agency, and the country's tax service.
French telecommunications group Orange preventively closed access to some websites and applications of its subsidiaries.
In Finland, state IT provider Valtori began gradually restoring access to services after an overnight installation of fixes. Its head, Hannu Naumanen, warned that restoration could take days or even weeks: systems require thorough verification.
Valtori emphasized that the websites were shut down for security reasons. The provider is not aware of any hacks or exploitation of these vulnerabilities against them.
What's happening in Belarus
On October 21, Hoster.by reported that, by order of the state body coordinating cybersecurity, incoming traffic from abroad had been restricted.
According to the company, affected websites should remain accessible within Belarus but not open from other countries. An exception was made for trusted networks of search bots from Google, Yandex, and other search engines. Which specific body issued the order and how many resources were affected by the restrictions was not specified.
This morning, the blocking was lifted, but some websites remain inaccessible from abroad.
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