Afət Ziyadqızı
France’s Interior Ministry has temporarily restricted access to several government websites as a precaution, following an official request from the National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (ANSSI), the country’s main cybersecurity authority.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that, according to Turkish broadcaster TRT Haber, access to the official websites of France’s prefectures, the local administrative authorities, has been suspended to guard against cyberattack risks.
The ministry said in an official statement that the decision was linked to a critical security vulnerability discovered in PHP, a programming language widely used around the world. Shortly after details of the flaw in the PHP code system, identified by cybersecurity company Calif using artificial intelligence technology, were leaked to the media, ANSSI recommended putting the websites into maintenance mode as an emergency precaution.
“Our specialist teams are working intensively to apply software security updates and system protection code as quickly as possible,” the agency said.
France’s Interior Ministry said decisions by prefectures, emergency messages, legal notices and official instructions would temporarily be communicated to the public through the authorities’ social media accounts and other alternative channels.
The critical vulnerability in PHP has prompted partial or complete suspensions of access to strategic online resources in various countries, including numerous government portals. Experts have described the precautionary measures taken worldwide as necessary to protect government information infrastructure from hacker attacks.
