# Security Flaws Across UK Government Sites Exposed ‘God-Tier’ Information

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/security-flaws-across-uk-government-sites-exposed-god-tier-information/
- Published: 2026-11-10T07:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-10T07:19:47+00:00
- Original publisher: Wired
- Original article: https://www.wired.com/story/security-flaws-across-uk-government-sites-exposed-god-tier-information/
- Topics: Government, Politics, UK, World

## Key points

- Exposed credentials could have given wide access to Planning Inspectorate files.
- About two-thirds of 349 public-sector codebases scanned had vulnerabilities.
- The researcher argues that fixing flaws matters more than hiding code.

## Summary

A security researcher found vulnerabilities in publicly available code used by UK government bodies, including a serious exposed credential at the Planning Inspectorate. The case matters because the credential could have opened access to extensive government and employee data, while the broader findings raise questions about neglected maintenance and calls to restrict open publication of public-sector code.

Researcher Chris Nesbitt-Smith scanned 349 codebases across 33 organisations and said about two-thirds contained vulnerabilities. The Planning Inspectorate said its monitoring detected his activity in August, that it fixed the issue within 20 minutes of being alerted, and that it found no data breach. Other findings involved Department for Education services and a Scottish Government data portal; the organisations have since addressed the reported issues.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.