JAPAN CUT QUAKE WARNINGS FOR 30 MILLION PEOPLE TO PATCH THE AI-FOUND FLAW

SoftBank said on Friday it was suspending its emergency alert system for mobile users while it patches a flaw in PHP, the programming language behind much of the web. Customers will not receive early warnings for earthquakes, tsunami alerts, or disaster and evacuation information while the system is under maintenance.

SoftBank is Japan's third-largest mobile carrier, with more than 30 million smartphone customers, in one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. The shutdown is part of a wider scramble: banks, airlines, railways and government services around the world went offline this week after the AI-found PHP flaws prompted millions of hacking attempts.