"PHP Security Flaw" Triggers Website Hacking Alert... AI Discovers Vulnerability

[Anchor]

A critical security vulnerability has been discovered in a programming language widely used on internet websites, prompting multiple European countries to preemptively block access to government websites. Artificial intelligence played a decisive role in discovering the security flaw.

Correspondent Kim Hyunwoo reports from New York.

[Reporter]

Trying to access the French government's official website brings up a message stating it is temporarily unavailable.

Access to the Dutch government's internet site was also blocked, and major infrastructure sites in Finland and Denmark have likewise ground to a halt.

News broke that a serious security vulnerability was found in PHP, a programming language used extensively across the internet, leading European nations to block access to vulnerable websites as a precautionary measure.

[Paulo Amaral / Professor, Catholic University of Portugal: If you don't install the updates and the vulnerability remains on the website, attackers can take the system down.]

The U.S. Wall Street Journal reported that artificial intelligence played a crucial role in uncovering this security defect.

It is known that the AI discovered a critical flaw that allows hackers to access systems externally without separate login or authentication procedures, execute arbitrary code, or take control of systems.

It was a serious security defect that had gone unnoticed for over 10 years, but it was uncovered by utilizing AI.

However, concerns are growing as information regarding the flaw leaked before the security patch was released, and some hackers are reportedly attempting attacks exploiting the vulnerability.

[Paulo Amaral / Professor, Catholic University of Portugal: Now everybody knows that there is a vulnerability. Even hackers that maybe didn't know about it. They might rush to exploit it.]

The U.S. National Security Agency also advised all institutions and companies using PHP to prepare updates to resolve the vulnerability.

(Video journalist: Lee Hee-hoon, Video editor: Kim Yoon-sung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.