More Isle of Man Government websites have been temporarily taken offline as a precaution amid international cyber security warnings.

The government confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that a number of public-facing websites had been taken down while urgent security patches are applied to address identified vulnerabilities.

The websites affected now are:

  • School websites across the Island
  • Isle of Man Post Office
  • iMuseum
  • Read the Signs
  • Live traffic and road information
  • Isle of Man Legislation

The government said the move followed published advice from the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

It apologised for any inconvenience caused and said the websites would remain offline until the work was complete, with an update to follow.

What is behind the move?

The announcement comes as cyber security agencies worldwide warn of two critical vulnerabilities discovered in PHP, a programming language used to power a large number of websites.

The NCSC issued an alert on Wednesday, October 21, urging organisations using PHP to prepare to update their systems as soon as fixes became available.

It advised organisations unable to address the vulnerabilities immediately to consider taking affected systems offline until they could be secured.

The flaws were discovered by cyber security researchers using artificial intelligence, according to reports, and could potentially allow attackers to gain access to systems and data.

The vulnerabilities have prompted organisations in several countries to take websites offline while security updates are applied. Reuters reported on Wednesday that government, education and other public service websites across Europe had been affected by precautionary shutdowns.

PHP is widely used behind the scenes to generate web pages and connect websites to databases. The NCSC has urged organisations to identify systems running the language, prioritise those accessible through the internet and apply updates as soon as possible.

The Isle of Man Government has not confirmed whether each of the affected island websites uses a vulnerable version of PHP, nor has it stated that any of its systems have been compromised.

The websites are expected to remain offline while the security work is carried out. The government has not yet provided a timeframe for their return.