TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — A vulnerability in a programming language used by a significant portion of the internet has security experts working to protect websites from potential cyberattacks.According to Ed Ditlefsen, Chief Technology Officer at the College of Southern Idaho, Hypertext Preprocessor, or PHP, runs behind the scenes on many websites, helping to generate pages and process online forms and purchases.“It’s not typically something that web visitors or users will see directly themselves. You see the results of it. So PHP generates the web pages that are shown to you in the browser when you submit a form, do e-commerce, etc.,” Ditlefsen said.Ditlefsen said security researchers discovered the flaw by using artificial intelligence, which identified a defect that allowed hackers to take control of a server.“This is an example of where we are seeing AI really start to speed up human efforts to discover these vulnerabilities. One of the nice things about this situation is that the researchers found it before the malicious actors found it, and so we were able to become aware of it,” Ditlefsen said.Ditlefsen said a patch has since been issued, and organizations around the world are working to secure their systems by temporarily going offline or downgrading their capabilities.“Most vendors and website owners, if possible, will come up with allowing users to access some portion of their website that isn’t dependent on a technology that is impacted by the vulnerability. But again, because every website in the world is built differently, it’s a case by case basis,” Ditlefsen said.He added that some websites might still be compromised and could impact users indirectly.“The number one thing you can do is just be cautious and be diligent. For businesses, we’re going to find that cybersecurity investment continues to be a growing expense that can no longer be avoided,” Ditlefsen said.Ditlefsen recommends users continue practicing safe online habits, including using trusted websites and being cautious about where they enter their personal or financial information.Copyright 2026 KMVT. All rights reserved.
——————————————————-
Click Here For The Original Source.
