Over 10 Banking and Gov Websites Offline

Following a critical vulnerability alert in the PHP programming language, more than ten major government and financial institution websites in Bangladesh have been temporarily taken offline to prevent potential cyberattacks. The sites remained inaccessible as of 10:30 AM on Saturday, October 24.

Sources reported that assistant programmers overseeing system administration are actively deploying PHP security patches, with decisions regarding system restoration expected on Sunday when offices reopen. Relevant authorities stated that shutting down servers directly connected to the internet is a preventive measure aimed at hardening digital infrastructure.

The list of affected entities includes the central bank—Bangladesh Bank—alongside six commercial banks: Agrani Bank, Janata Bank, IFIC Bank, Standard Islami Bank, SBAC Bank, and Bengal Commercial Bank. Additionally, key public portals including BG Press, BANBEIS, Petrobangla, the Non-Government Teachers & Employees Welfare Trust portal, and the digital land services platform (land.gov.bd) are currently down. The Ministry of Land officially announced a 36-hour scheduled maintenance window from Thursday midnight to Saturday noon, during which land services will remain unavailable.

This preventive shutdown follows a high-alert warning issued on October 22 by BGD e-GOV CIRT regarding PHP's critical memory flaw. Cyber security expert and Associate Professor at Daffodil International University, Tanvir Hassan Zoha, noted that approximately 60 to 85 percent of Bangladeshi government websites run on PHP frameworks. He recommended that administrators isolate vulnerable servers behind firewalls, review recent server access logs for anomalous activities, and immediately update core PHP runtimes to patched releases to secure national data infrastructure.

//DBTech/BTRN/MSI/SMP//