AI software bug discovery raises outage risk, experts warn

Cybersecurity experts warn that AI is accelerating the discovery and exploitation of software flaws, likely causing more outages like those that hit government websites globally this week. Seven professionals told Reuters that AI-driven findings are expected to trigger further disruptions. AI helped double the number of digital flaws found year-on-year, per upcoming research from VulnCheck. The recent outages stemmed from weaknesses in PHP, a programming language powering much of the internet, forcing operators to rush fixes or take sites offline. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince predicted busy months ahead as AI surfaces hidden vulnerabilities. Experts are split on whether AI will boost successful attacks, noting more disclosures don't automatically mean more breaches. Some say AI-found bugs are hard to exploit, though timelines for weaponizing them have shortened dramatically. Japan announced Friday it will simulate AI cyberattacks to identify weaknesses, while SoftBank suspended its emergency alert system due to the PHP issue.