Japan gov't issues rare calls over PHP flaw

The moves reflected concerns that a delayed response could deal a blow to the economy and society, especially given the recent string of personal data breaches caused by cyberattacks. Taking to X, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi posted an "urgent request" to the public on Wednesday night, urging those who use PHP for their websites to apply a patch to fix the vulnerabilities as soon as possible. She also said that temporarily suspending websites could be an effective measure if applying the patch was difficult.

In another post around noon on Thursday, Takaichi said that access to her website had been temporarily blocked, reiterating that temporarily suspending websites was also important. She also encouraged social media users to follow the National Cybersecurity Office's account. The NCO warned on X that failure to take appropriate action could result in websites being compromised.

Also on Thursday, Takaichi met with Yoichi Iida, who heads the NCO, for about 35 minutes at the prime minister's office in Tokyo and was briefed on the PHP issue. She then discussed responses to the issue with relevant ministers at a meeting of the National Security Council. The government's unusually proactive public messaging was driven by its assessment that the issue was "highly urgent," a government source said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference Thursday that the government had not received any reports of damage. Noting that leaders in other countries had also issued warnings over the PHP flaw, a government official said, "We believe our measures were effective, as we have received reports that the patch has been applied." Japan has recently seen a series of personal data breaches resulting from unauthorized access, amid advances in artificial intelligence.

"We're in a world where the internet is not a safe or secure space," a senior Digital Agency official said.

"Fighting vulnerabilities could become the new normal," the official added.