On Friday, the British government advised citizens to stock up on three days’ worth of emergency supplies at home. The government stated that the recent PHP software failure, along with record-breaking summer temperatures, droughts, and wildfires, have underscored the importance of this recommendation.
The PHP programming language vulnerability disclosed on Wednesday (21st) has become one of the most severe cyber security incidents in recent years. This vulnerability caused some services to go offline, leading to millions of hacker attacks. Following this, governments and enterprises around the world have taken measures to enhance the security of systems running PHP programming language.
The British government mentioned that the recent network disruption highlighted the importance of their newly launched “Get Ready” campaign and advised citizens to store three days’ worth of bottled water and non-perishable food at home.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham chaired a meeting on combating wildfires. He stated that in the past, the UK has been “reactive” in dealing with emergencies and needs to be more proactive. The government announced a new wildfire response plan, which includes deploying military aircraft.
Defense Secretary Wes Streeting mentioned that cyber security incidents like the PHP outage will become more common, as developments in artificial intelligence make it easier for people to bypass traditional defenses. He also pointed out risks from hostile states, organized crime, and climate change.
Speaking on the BBC’s “Question Time” program, he stated that the threats faced by the UK are “at least in my lifetime, and possibly all time, never been as serious as they are now.”
The UK’s recommendations are similar to those of the European Commission. In 2025, the European Commission recommended that EU citizens prepare a 72-hour emergency kit containing food, water, cash, and portable power sources.