PHP foundation 'under-funded' with one full-time staff member, director says


PHP foundation 'under-funded' with one full-time staff member, director says <br> The discovery of two ​serious flaws in PHP this week set off a global scramble to &zwnj;keep websites safe from hackers, showing just how critical the three-decade-old open-source programming language is to the internet. Yet the nonprofit foundation that supports PHP, which may underpin up to 70% of sites globally, operates on ​a shoestring budget. &ldquo;We have one full-time staff member (that&#39;s me) and 14 mostly ​part-time contractors,&rdquo; Executive Director Elizabeth Barron of the PHP Foundation said via ⁠email in an interview on Friday. Board members are unpaid volunteers, and funding ​comes from donations and grants. Read: Millions of hacking attempts as companies, governments rush to patch PHP flaws The foundation works with outside researchers and companies, including OpenAI ​and cybersecurity firms Wiz and Calif, to investigate security flaws and coordinate fixes, including Wednesday&#39;s patches. While Web security company Cloudflare has reported millions of hacking attempts, Barron said the foundation had no ​evidence hackers were able to exploit the vulnerabilities before they were disclosed, or ​on sites that have been patched. &quot;We received no further indication from OpenAI, Wiz or Calif, with &zwnj;whom ⁠we&#39;re working closely on this issue, regarding any issues on patched systems,&rdquo; she said. Artificial intelligence has proved both a help and a burden to the foundation. It helped researchers find the flaws, which had been present for a decade, and Barron ​said it made programmers ​more efficient. However, it ⁠is also increasing maintainers&#39; workloads. The PHP project is receiving nearly twice as many proposed code changes as a year ago, &ldquo;yet ​the number of contributors hasn&#39;t doubled,&rdquo; she said. Reviewing contributions ​and bug ⁠reports requires &ldquo;a massive amount of human input and experience.&rdquo; Read More: Government websites in Europe, elsewhere go dark as software flaw sparks security scramble Recent events have shown how heavily companies and governments rely on PHP, Barron said. &ldquo;Given that reliance, it is clear that PHP ⁠is incredibly underfunded.&rdquo; <br> <img src="https://tribune.com.pk/story/2636878/php-foundation-under-funded-with-one-full-time-staff-member-director-says" alt=" PHP foundation 'under-funded' with one full-time staff member, director says" width="100%">

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Apple launches new 13-inch, 15-inch MacBook Air with M3 chip

Image
Apple launches new 13-inch, 15-inch MacBook Air with M3 chip Apple has unveiled its next-generation M3 MacBook Air range, in 13-inch and 15-inch sizes. With the M3 chip, the devices will have faster CPU and GPU performance, an upgraded Neural Engine, and up to 2x faster Wi-Fi, along with the ability to connect to two external displays at the same time. Available for order, the new MacBook Air range will be shipped from March 8. The ability to connect to two external displays had been a much-awaited feature in laptops. The feature comes with a small catch, not allowing MacBook Air desktop to be connected to external displays without the laptop lid being closed. If lid is open, only one external display will work like the previous M1 and M2 models. Being called the “world’s best consumer laptop for AI”, M3 MacBook Air features a faster 8-core CPU combined with up to 10-core GPU. With a faster 16-core Neural Engine, and upgraded Wi-Fi 6E, the device will allow for maximum theoretical do...
Read more

Scientists expect PakSat MM-1 services from August

Image
Scientists expect PakSat MM-1 services from August The newly-lunched Pakistani satellite, PakSat MM-1, would be positioned in a geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometres above Earth and it would start delivery of services in August, scientists associated with the MM-1 project said on Sunday. PakSat MM-1, Pakistan’s second communication satellite, was launched into the orbit on Thursday from China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC). Dr Khurram Khurshid, Head Electrical Engineering Department at the Institute of Space Technology (IST), said it would provide communication services. “The satellite will provide communication services like broadband internet, TV broadcasting, media and telecommunication. It … will play an important role in promoting economic activities besides e-commerce and e-governance,” Dr Khurshid said. The satellite launched by the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) with the support of China under the National Space Programme-2047,...
Read more

Boeing’s Starliner completes key uncrewed return, facing $1.6b in space struggles

Image
Boeing’s Starliner completes key uncrewed return, facing $1.6b in space struggles Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, completing a crucial test mission without astronauts on board.  NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who first flew the Starliner in June, remained on the ISS along with seven others, as the spacecraft autonomously departed at 6:04 p.m. ET (2204 GMT) for a six-hour journey back to Earth. Initially scheduled as an eight-day test, the mission was extended to eight months due to technical problems with Starliner’s propulsion system. While Starliner was stocked with food and supplies, Wilmore and Williams will now return on a SpaceX spacecraft in February 2025, according to NASA's recent update. In preparation for the spacecraft's return, Boeing engineers installed new software to enable Starliner to make the journey back without a crew. This return is considered a crucial test of the spacecraft...
Read more