If a critical vulnerability could allow malicious code to be executed remotely, the availability of a website becomes a secondary concern. Baden-Württemberg has therefore taken the precautionary measure of taking affected websites and web systems belonging to the state administration offline. A large number of systems are affected; the security authorities and the IT service provider BITBW have classified the PHP vulnerability as highly critical. The state emphasises that this measure is not a response to a successful attack. It is intended to prevent attackers from taking control of the affected systems connected to the internet.
An increased number of attacks exploiting this vulnerability has already been observed worldwide. The PHP developer has now released security updates. Baden-Württemberg is testing and rolling out the patch as a matter of high priority; only once the vulnerability has been reliably patched will the systems be brought back online in stages. Services have also been taken offline as a precautionary measure elsewhere: Hagel cites the administration in Berlin, supermarkets in France and universities in Reutlingen. These are warning signs of a widespread threat, not isolated individual cases.
Manuel Hagel, Minister for the Interior and Digitalisation, believes the overall cyber security situation is becoming more acute. Artificial intelligence could further increase the speed and sophistication of attacks. Operators must therefore be able to take exposed systems offline at short notice if there is an imminent threat. Hagel is calling for a joint operations centre and a cyber defence shield for Baden-Württemberg.
CDO Ronja Kemmer emphasises proactive action, modern security architectures and consistent cyber resilience. She thanks the staff at BITBW and CSBW, as well as the specialist units involved, for their swift, professional and level-headed response. Whilst the shutdown demonstrates that the state is capable of taking action in a tense situation, the next benchmark is how quickly the systems can be safely brought back online.