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Welcome to The Morning Report, brought to you by Renil S Varghese—your quick dive into the top stories shaping the business world today. Fast, insightful, and to the point.

1. PHP flaws spark global alarm; Indian firms scramble to patch systems

Indian companies, particularly MSMEs, are rushing to patch websites after two critical vulnerabilities were discovered in PHP, a programming language widely used for web development. The flaws could allow hackers to take control of internet-facing servers without logging in, potentially enabling data theft and malware installation. Around 67 per cent of websites using India’s ‘.in’ domain reportedly run on PHP. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has urged organisations to identify vulnerable systems and install the latest security fixes. The government says most key affected public websites have been patched. The vulnerabilities, hidden for more than a decade, have also triggered precautionary action worldwide.

2. eMudhra issue: Government looking at domestic alternatives

The government is exploring India-based alternatives to overseas audit firms in the digital certificate ecosystem following the eMudhra security incident. The move follows the compromise of private keys linked to eight eMudhra intermediate certificates, which were revoked on October 19. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has formed a special investigation team involving officials from the Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA), the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the Aadhaar and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Meanwhile, eMudhra has decided to exit the global SSL/TLS certificate business, which contributes about 1 per cent of its global revenue. The company said its regulated Digital Signature Certificate and eSign businesses remain unaffected, while no customer certificates were issued using the compromised keys.

3. Indian Food Ministry asks States to ensure no sugar is diverted for ethanol

The Centre has barred sugar mills and distilleries from producing ethanol from sugarcane juice, syrup and B-heavy molasses (BHM) during the 2026-27 Ethanol Supply Year. The Food Ministry has asked sugar-producing States to ensure strict compliance and monitor production. The decision comes amid concerns over sugar availability after shortages in 2025-26 and expectations of tight supplies in the current season. The government had earlier allowed duty-free imports of raw sugar, with import permits now valid until December 31, 2026. Meanwhile, sugar production has begun in Maharashtra, while crushing operations in Uttar Pradesh face delays due to concerns over low sugar recovery rates.

4. Modi, Tusk push for doubling of Indo-Polish trade, early India-EU trade pact

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk have called for early implementation of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement and agreed to work towards doubling bilateral trade by 2030. The two countries plan deeper cooperation in manufacturing, defence, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, green energy, space and nuclear energy. India said the FTA could create new export opportunities for machinery, chemicals, plastics and engineering goods, while attracting Polish investment. India exported goods worth about $2.8 billion to Poland in FY26 and imported $1.2 billion. The leaders also discussed direct flights, maritime cooperation and connectivity through the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.

5. CoinDCX confirms functioning of rogue wallets, syphoning user funds worth $16 million

CoinDCX has confirmed an operational failure involving a compromised wallet that resulted in losses estimated at about $16 million. The crypto exchange said some users continued depositing funds into deprecated wallets linked to its July 2025 security breach, while its process for sweeping those deposits failed temporarily. CoinDCX said affected users were credited, customer funds remain safe and the losses were absorbed by the company. The incident has renewed concerns over security and regulation in India’s crypto sector. Experts are calling for stronger oversight and audits, while the industry is also responding to newly disclosed critical PHP vulnerabilities that could expose internet-facing systems to cyberattacks.

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Published on October 23, 2026