AI-Powered Attacks Surge, Raising Concerns About Internet Security

Cybersecurity professionals are having a brutal month, with several dozen major cyberattacks and AI-identified vulnerabilities reported across the internet. The PHP Foundation disclosed critical vulnerabilities in the programming language used by around 70% of websites, prompting a global patching effort. Cloudflare reported millions of attempts to exploit the vulnerability after its disclosure.

Some countries, including France and Finland, temporarily pulled access to certain websites while the US National Security Agency (NSA) warned organizations to patch the flaws immediately or take affected systems offline. The US military has also been told to prep for 90 days of independent operation under the FORTRESS initiative.

Experts warn that the problem is getting worse due to AI’s ability to find vulnerabilities faster than it can fix them, and that ordinary people can take practical steps to stay safer online, such as staying off unfamiliar sites, deleting unused apps, and keeping personal access points locked down.