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What Is PHP? Why Are Government and Business Websites Going Offline?

22 October 2026 at 16:55
A critical security flaw in the programming language underpinning much of the web has prompted a global rush to patch vulnerable systems.

© Vincent West/Reuters

A programmer in Guernica, Spain, on Thursday, working on PHP code, software used throughout the internet.

How a Legal Backlash Against Big Tech Is Forcing Big Changes

22 October 2026 at 15:33
A series of lawsuits has created a new de facto regulatory regime as courts order companies like Meta and Google to change their business practices — and pay up.

© Gabriela Bhaskar/The New York Times

Meta’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg. On Wednesday, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay a record $25 billion penalty for abusing consumer privacy.

PHP Security Flaw Sets Off Global Rush to Patch, Leaving Websites Offline

Governments and businesses around the world scrambled to prevent hackers from exploiting a vulnerability in PHP, a popular programming language.

© Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Associated Press

Prime Minister Rob Jetten of the Netherlands in Brussels last week. He said that his cabinet was closely monitoring the online vulnerability caused by a security flaw in PHP.

Google Eyes Large ‘Virtual Power Plant’ for Data Centers

22 October 2026 at 12:30
The tech giant is funding one of the nation’s largest “virtual power plants,” which would pay homes and businesses to adjust their energy use when grids are strained.

© Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service, via Getty Images

A Google data center in Nevada.

A.I. Discovered a Critical Vulnerability in PHP, a Coding Language Behind Many Websites

21 October 2026 at 20:04
The disclosure heightened concerns about A.I.’s potential to upend cybersecurity unless shortcomings are addressed.

© Annegret Hilse/Reuters

The website for the French government was temporarily unavailable on Wednesday amid hacking concerns stemming from major bugs in a piece of software used widely across the internet.
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