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DHAKA: Bangladesh Bank’s website has been temporarily shut down as a precautionary measure to address an urgent cybersecurity risk. The decision was taken amid concerns about potential attacks exploiting security vulnerabilities in the PHP programming language. However, there is no confirmed information yet on whether the website has been subjected to a cyberattack.
The website was inaccessible on Thursday (October 22). Sources at the central bank said work was underway to identify and address security weaknesses. The website will be restored after the risks have been assessed and the necessary safeguards put in place.
Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan told the media that the website had been taken offline due to an urgent security issue. He said the move was a precautionary measure to prevent potential security threats.
According to relevant sources and reports in international media, two critical security vulnerabilities in the PHP programming language have triggered global alerts. Exploiting these flaws could potentially allow attackers to execute unauthorised commands on servers remotely.
If such vulnerabilities are exploited, server files, databases and sensitive information could be put at risk. As a result, organisations are taking precautionary measures while assessing the threats and strengthening their security systems.
Besides Bangladesh Bank, websites of several other banks and organisations that use PHP have reportedly taken precautionary measures. However, it remains unclear whether the vulnerabilities in question have been exploited to launch an attack on Bangladesh Bank’s website.
PHP is a widely used server-side programming language. It is used to operate websites and online services run by government agencies, news organisations, e-commerce platforms and other institutions worldwide.
However, using PHP does not automatically make a website vulnerable. The level of risk depends on factors such as the version in use, security updates, server configuration and other protective measures.
Cybersecurity experts say organisations facing such threats should identify the PHP version running on their servers and apply the necessary security updates. If the vulnerabilities cannot be fixed immediately, they may take measures such as deploying firewalls, restricting unauthorised connections and, if necessary, temporarily disconnecting servers from the internet.
The temporary shutdown of Bangladesh Bank’s website may cause inconvenience for users seeking information and online services from the central bank. No specific timeline has been announced for restoring the website.
Sources said a decision on restoring the website would be made only after the security vulnerabilities have been identified and the necessary safeguards put in place.