The discovery of two serious flaws in PHP this week set off a global scramble to keep websites safe from hackers, showing just how critical the three-decade-old open-source programming language, is to the internet.
Yet the nonprofit foundation that supports PHP, which may underpin up to 70% of sites globally, operates on a shoestring budget.
“We have one full-time staff member (that’s me) and 14 mostly part-time contractors,” Executive Director Elizabeth Barron of the PHP Foundation said via email in an interview on Friday. Board members are unpaid volunteers, and funding comes from donations and grants.
The foundatio.n works with outside researchers and companies, including OpenAI and cybersecurity firms Wiz and Calif, to investigate security flaws and coordinate fixes, including Wednesday’s patches.
While Web security company Cloudflare has reported millions of hacking attempts, Barron said the foundation had no evidence hackers were able to exploit the vulnerabilities before they were disclosed, or on sites that have been patched.
“We received no further indication from OpenAI, Wiz or Calif, with whom we’re working closely on this issue, regarding any issues on patched systems,” she said.
