Global scramble to fix critical cyber-security flaws as many websites taken offline

Governments and some of the world's biggest companies, including Amazon, are rushing to protect their systems after the discovery of critical cyber-security flaws.

They are present in the PHP programming language that underpins a significant number of websites, with cyber-security firm Wiz estimating that "roughly 70%" of the internet is affected, though the BBC is unable to independently verify that figure.

Various European nations have shut down some public web services as a precaution, and Wikipedia also took down parts of its website.

This was in line with advice issued by governments, including the US, to take websites down if the flaws could not immediately be fixed.

Wiz - one of the companies whose researchers uncovered the vulnerabilities - describes the flaws as the "most severe" ever detected by AI.

OpenAI, whose technology was used to find the flaws, calls the discovery "one of the most impactful security issues in recent memory".

The UK government says it is working to identify any potential exposure.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest developments on this story.