Turkey’s Cybersecurity Directorate (SGB) issued a nationwide warning and launched security checks on Wednesday as two flaws in software used to run websites sparked a global alarm and prompted governments in Europe to take sites offline.
Government websites in France, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands went offline as a precaution while operators worked to protect their systems, according to Reuters.
The warning called for three steps: installing security updates, limiting outside access to administrative systems and blocking connections from abroad to systems that do not need overseas access.
The call extends to operators of critical infrastructure, along with public institutions and private companies.
Checks of e-Devlet, Turkey’s online gateway to public services, found no security issue affecting its services, according to a Thursday statement from the directorate. The platform serves more than 69 million users and continued operating without interruption.
The flaws affect PHP, software used to run websites and online applications, and can allow attackers to run commands on affected servers without logging in, potentially enabling data theft or disruption of online services, according to guidance from Google Cloud.
PHP’s developers released fixes on Wednesday, warning that other precautions can reduce exposure to some attacks but do not make affected systems safe.
PHP runs on the computers that operate websites and online applications, so the updates must be installed by the organizations responsible for those systems.
Security scans and monitoring across Turkey continued on Thursday in coordination with institutions and their cybersecurity response teams, the directorate added.
The directorate was established under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in January 2025 to coordinate Turkey’s cybersecurity policies, following public concern over data leaks and the online sale of citizens’ personal information.
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