Germany news: Many sites back online after PHP security fix

Government and public service websites came down overnight for key PHP patch after security issue was discovered

More and more far-right martial arts clubs are opening across Germany

Germany has increased its battery storage by 8.2 gigawatt-hours in 2026 so far

A number of German public service websites were back up and running on Thursday morning after a security vulnerability was discovered in the PHP code that is used to run millions of websites around the world.

However, some state government portals, hospitals and universities were still experiencing online disruptions.

The sites had been taken down as a precaution after the vulnerability was discovered and PHP developers urged users to install a new security patch.

Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) warned that there was still a threat, especially due to the hackers being able to employ AI to find exploits.

"We consider it likely that there will be widespread exploitation within a few hours of the security updates being released: Attackers can analyze them quickly using AI-powered tools and generate corresponding exploits," the BSI said while recommending a complete disconnection of websites from the internet as long as security cannot be guaranteed.

Experts warned it could take months to fully secure all government, public and private devices, especially those running on outdated software that cannot be fixed with a simple patch.

There are now 20 known far-right martial art clubs active in Germany, up from around a dozen in June 2024, according to a report from the German government.

The Interior Ministry said there had been a major increase in 2026 in particular. The report came after a parliamentary inquiry by the Greens.

The far right have long used martial arts and fitness to recruit young men into the extremist scene, but the government reported an observed "professionalization of combat skills" among the clubs.

The report said these groups pose threats of violence but no direct confrontations with opposing groups had yet been recorded. It also warned that while it found no evidence of links to similar groups in other countries, this could not be ruled out int he future.

Germany has rapidly increased the amount of battery storage it has available, with the number of battery systems increasing by close to half a million between January and September 2026, the solar industry association BSW-Solar reported.

This year's new installations mark an increase of 91% over the same period last year and have a combined storage of 8.2 gigawatt-hours.

That is equivalent to the amount of electricity used by the city of Munich in just under half a day.

A large part of the new battery installations have been large-scale battery systems. The number of systems with a capacity of 1 megawatt or more increased from 63 to 220.

Batteries are a key component of the transition to clean energy that requires the storage of electricity to balance out fluctuations. But BSW-Solar pointed out that a much faster expansion is needed to reach Germany's clean energy goals.

"Battery storage is becoming a driver of growth and efficiency in the energy transition," BSW-Solar managing director Carsten Körnig said, adding that the technology could help save billions in costs.