University of Iceland takes websites offline after PHP security warning

The University of Iceland in Reykjavík has temporarily taken all its websites offline after a serious programming vulnerability was found in PHP, a language widely used for web development, according to reporting by Vísir and mbl.is.

Among the affected services is Uglan, the university’s internal system for students and teachers, which was also taken offline. Many students and staff rely on Uglan for course information, grades, and communications.

The university’s rector, Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir, sent a notice to students announcing the closures, mbl.is reported. The university has not yet given a timetable for when its services will be restored, mbl.is reported.

The move comes after CERT-IS, Iceland’s national cybersecurity team, warned authorities about a dangerous new vulnerability in the PHP programming language. CERT-IS recommended that all systems built on PHP be taken offline as a precaution. Security agencies across Europe have issued similar warnings about the threat.

The vulnerabilities in PHP threaten websites worldwide, according to the Icelandic cybersecurity team and RÚV. CERT-IS stated on its own webpage that there were two serious vulnerabilities, but did not provide further technical details at the time of reporting.

When Vísir and mbl.is checked on Wednesday, the University of Iceland’s main site, hi.is, appeared to be reachable to some users, while Uglan remained inaccessible. It was not clear whether access to the main website would remain stable over the coming days.

Background

The University of Iceland is the country’s oldest and largest higher education institution, and was founded by Alþingi, Iceland’s parliament, in 1911. The university’s main campus is concentrated around Suðurgata in central Reykjavík. It provides instruction to about 14,000 students in twenty-five faculties.

TopicsCERT-IScybersecurityPHP vulnerabilityUglanUniversity of Iceland