22/10/2026
Australia's cyber agency just issued its highest alert, and government websites went offline. Is your business next? 👇
On Wednesday, the ACSC issued a critical alert over two flaws in PHP, the code behind about 70% of the world's websites. They're rated 9.2 out of 10 for severity and can let an attacker take over a web server without logging in.
Attacks began within hours. Several government sites, including the ABS, were pulled offline while fixes went in.
And it's not a one-off: we've listed 11 major incidents reported in the past fortnight.
Swipe for the 3 questions to ask your IT provider this week. 👉
Then do two things:
📌 Save this so you can find it when you talk to them.
📤 Send it to whoever looks after your website.
Already checked yours? Comment "done" so others know to check theirs.
Think you've been affected? Call the ACSC on 1300 CYBER1 (1300 292 371).
General advice only. Consider your objectives, financial situation and needs before acting. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Luke Harlow, AR 1237865 of Synchron Advice Pty Ltd, AFSL 243313. Queensland Financial Group: Buachailli Pty Ltd (CAR 456040) and Wolrah Holdings Pty Ltd (CAR 1296391).
Sources: ASD's ACSC critical alert, 21 Oct 2026; Information Age, Insurance Business and Region Canberra, 22 Oct 2026; FBI/CISA advisory AA26-293A; Reuters; The Register; The Hacker News; BleepingComputer; SecurityWeek; Mozilla; StepSecurity (12–22 Oct 2026).