Grimsby Community Energy Responds Promptly to National Cybersecurity Alert
Grimsby Community Energy (GCE) has taken prompt action following a critical cybersecurity warning issued by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), ensuring that its website and MyGCE member platform remain protected.
On 21 October 2026, the NCSC issued an urgent alert about two serious security vulnerabilities affecting PHP, a widely used technology that powers millions of websites, including those built using WordPress.
The vulnerabilities, both rated 9.2 out of 10 for severity, prompted website operators and hosting providers around the world to review their systems and apply security updates.
What does this mean for Grimsby Community Energy?
PHP is one of the technologies behind GCE’s website and MyGCE, our online membership platform, which allows members to view their share investments, interest payments, documents and other membership information.
Although this was an industry-wide security issue, we recognised the importance of acting quickly to protect the information entrusted to us by our members.
As soon as the warning was identified, we reviewed our website’s configuration and upgraded PHP from version 8.1 to the newer 8.3 series.
We then contacted our hosting provider, InMotion Hosting, to establish whether the necessary security fixes had been applied to the server hosting our website.
InMotion Hosting confirmed that all PHP versions on our server had been patched and that no further action was required from GCE.
Keeping our members’ information safe
Protecting our members’ information is an important responsibility, particularly as MyGCE provides access to personal membership details and community share investment records.
Steve Rusling, Deputy Managing Director of Grimsby Community Energy, said:
“Our members trust us with their personal information and investments, and we take that responsibility seriously. When we became aware of the security warning, we acted promptly to review our systems, upgrade the website’s software and obtain confirmation from our hosting provider that the necessary protections were in place.
Cybersecurity is an ongoing responsibility for every organisation with an online presence. This situation demonstrates the importance of keeping systems maintained and responding quickly when new risks are identified.”
Should members be concerned?
Critical vulnerabilities requiring this level of urgent, industry-wide coordination are relatively unusual, although routine security updates are a normal part of running modern websites.
Importantly, the discovery of a software vulnerability does not mean that a website has been hacked or that its information has been compromised.
Our hosting provider has confirmed that the server hosting GCE is patched. We will continue our normal security monitoring and software maintenance.
There is currently no action required from GCE members, and MyGCE remains available for normal use.
Our ongoing commitment
The introduction of MyGCE has made it easier for members to access information about their investments, interest payments and involvement in our community energy projects.
As we continue developing the platform, protecting members’ information will remain a key priority.
We will continue working with our hosting provider, maintaining our software and following relevant guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre.
Members can continue accessing MyGCE as normal.
Further information: National Cyber Security Centre – Critical security issue affecting PHP
