PHP website security flaw: what to check before adding AI

Four days. That's how long attackers were trying a new flaw in PHP before the fix was published. PHP is the software behind about seven in ten websites where the server software is known, including every WordPress site.

The same week Google began rolling out AI tools for small business owners and Anthropic opened a preview of an assistant that works across your email, invoices and payroll. Four stories, one message. Before you hand AI the keys to your business, check the locks you already have.

1. How do I check if my website needs the PHP security update?

Ask whoever looks after it which PHP version it runs and whether it's patched. On 21 October the PHP project released fixes for two critical vulnerabilities that "can allow unauthenticated remote code execution". In plain English, a stranger could run their own code on your web server without logging in.

Amazon's threat intelligence team saw the first attempt on 17 October, four days before the fix was public, and now reports broad attempts in the wild. The US cyber agency CISA urged immediate patching. Its advice for anyone who can't update, or is on PHP 8.1 or older, is to take those systems offline until they're fixed.

The flaw was found with AI, through an OpenAI-led security programme. Amazon says AI also helps attackers turn a fix into a working attack faster.

Why it matters: your website, booking system or customer portal is very likely on PHP. Shared hosting may already be patched. If an agency built your site or it has its own server, someone has to do this job. Know who. More than a third of PHP websites still run version 7 or older, according to W3Techs, and the PHP project no longer updates those.

Practical takeaway:

• Send your web host or agency this today. "Please confirm our PHP version and whether the 21 October fixes are installed or backported. Who checks our older sites and portals?" The fixed versions are 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 and 8.2.35.
• If you're on PHP 8.1 or older, act now. Some hosts and Linux vendors backport fixes to older versions, so ask. If nobody does, plan the upgrade.
• Agree a patch time in hours, not weeks. Amazon says a 7 or 30-day window "assumes a delay that no longer exists". IT providers, see our AI for MSPs page.

2. What are Google's new Gemini tools for small business?

A business hub inside the Gemini app. On 20 October Google announced a landing page for small business owners covering branding, finances and customer insights. Gemini now connects to Google Business Profile, Google Ads and Google Workspace, plus Adobe, Canva, Dropbox, Shopify, Wix, Zoho and Xero.

It also keeps your brand style for future images and turns messy spreadsheets and receipts into charts. Google says it's rolling out globally to all Gemini app users.

Why it matters: "all Gemini app users" includes personal Google accounts, and plenty of sole traders run their business on one. Google's own privacy help says that on personal accounts human reviewers read some chats while the Keep Activity setting is on, and asks people not to enter anything confidential. Work accounts come with different terms.

Practical takeaway:

• Check your account before you connect anything. Use a work account for business data. Keep customer records out until you know who can see them and how they're used.
• Connect one app at a time. Google Business Profile first, since most of it is public anyway. Finance last.
• Treat the charts as a first draft. Check totals against your accounts before acting on them.

3. What is Claude Duet?

An AI assistant that comes to you, rather than waiting to be asked. Anthropic opened a preview of Claude Duet on 21 October and says it was built for "professionals and small business owners". It sends a morning brief, checks your connected accounts every few hours and works in the background, from chasing unpaid invoices in QuickBooks to preparing payroll in Gusto.

Before it sends a message, makes a payment, signs a document or deletes anything, it shows you what it's about to do and waits for approval. It's US-only for now, by waitlist, on Claude's Pro and Max plans, which are individual plans rather than its Team or Enterprise ones.

Why it matters: the approval design is right, and it's what we'd build in ourselves. But Anthropic admits it "still might misread a thread or miscalibrate what's urgent". An assistant reading your inbox, invoices and payroll is a new member of staff with very wide access.

Practical takeaway:

• Decide what it can read before you sign up. Calendar and email first. Payroll and banking last, if at all.
• Review its access like a staff account. Our checklist for giving an AI agent access takes ten minutes.

4. What does the ICO's "Password1" reprimand mean for your business?

That outsourcing your IT doesn't outsource the responsibility. On 20 October the UK Information Commissioner's Office reprimanded two Welsh organisations after a ransomware attack took the personal information of 3,300 people, most of them children.

The attackers got in through a test account called "Test2". It had existed for more than 12 years with the password "Password1". Neither the IT provider nor its client had a routine for removing old accounts, and their contract lacked the data protection terms the law requires. The ICO was blunt: "The responsibility for these failures did not sit with one organisation alone."

Why it matters: it isn't an AI story, but it's the same lesson. Every AI assistant you connect is another account. If nobody owns the list, it only grows.

Practical takeaway:

• Ask your IT provider for every account. Including test, admin and former staff accounts. Remove what nobody needs.
• Turn on multi-factor sign-in for remote access.
• Check your IT contract. It should say who does what on security, including AI tools.

What this week means for your business

AI is now sold straight to owners, ready to plug into the systems you run on. Those tools sit on top of the accounts and systems you already have, like a website on old PHP or a test account from years ago. Check those first.

Do it in order. Patch, tidy your accounts, then connect AI one app at a time with approvals switched on. Our AI and data protection checklist walks through the questions to ask first.

When you want AI doing a specific job properly, that's what we build and run. The AI Readiness Diagnostic is free and no-obligation. You keep the statement of work, wireframe and ROI case either way.

Questions business owners are asking

How do I know if my website uses PHP?

If it runs on WordPress, WooCommerce, Drupal, Joomla or Magento, it uses PHP. If you're not sure, ask your web host or developer which PHP version the site runs on. The versions that fix this month's critical flaws are 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 and 8.2.35. PHP 8.1 and older no longer get updates from the PHP project.

Is it safe to connect Gemini or Claude to my business accounts?

It can be, if you choose what it connects to. Use a work account rather than a personal one for business data, connect one app at a time and keep approval switched on for anything that sends, pays or deletes. Then review what's connected every month, the same way you would a staff account.

Who removes old accounts when IT is outsourced?

Whoever your contract says, so put it in writing. In the ICO's October 2026 case the IT provider created a test account and the client could have had it removed, but neither had a routine for it and both were reprimanded. Agree who reviews accounts, how often and who signs off removals.