# Explainer: What is PHP and why did it take government websites offline?

https://mins.news/en/item/109762

- Reuters, 2026-10-21 16:05 UTC
- Tech
- Original: https://www.reuters.com/technology/what-is-php-why-did-it-take-government-websites-offline-2026-10-21/?link_source=ta_bluesky_link&taid=6ad8e2b575a7df0001b13edb

> Government websites across Europe went offline on Wednesday as operators rushed to patch two critical flaws in PHP, one of the web’s most widely used programming languages.

## Related coverage

- [Governments assess exposure after global PHP security warning](https://mins.news/en/item/110599) — BBC News, 2026-10-22
- [Some websites go offline as operators fix an AI-detected flaw in a web programming language](https://mins.news/en/item/110285) — The Associated Press, 2026-10-21
- [Canadian government sites among those offline after flaw found in widely used programming language](https://mins.news/en/item/110069) — CBC News, 2026-10-21
- [European government websites taken offline after AI helps find critical PHP flaws](https://mins.news/en/video/109918) — Al Jazeera English, 2026-10-21