Sri Lankan police, govt websites hit by cyber attacks

Colombo, Dec 31 (SocialNews.XYZ) Several Sri Lankan government institutions have faced cyber attacks, a police spokesman told local media on Tuesday.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) K.B. Manathunga said the official YouTube channel of the Sri Lanka Police Department has been hacked.

Manathunga added the official website of the Sri Lanka Department of Government Printing has also been hacked and its data has been altered.

Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT) and the police are currently investigating the cyber attacks, he said, Xinhua news agency reported.

SLCERT last week warned that government websites were vulnerable to attacks and said it was planning to carry out a series of programs to educate government servants on dealing with cyber attacks.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's Cabinet of Ministers on Monday approved a proposal by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to establish investigative units in every ministry to ensure accountability within public institutions, a government spokesperson announced on Tuesday.

Speaking to journalists in Colombo, Cabinet spokesperson and Minister of Health and Mass Media Nalinda Jayatissa said the government has received numerous complaints regarding irregularities in state institutions.

To address these concerns and enhance public service, the Cabinet decided to conduct impartial and methodical investigations into such complaints, Jayatissa explained.

The approved proposal calls for the establishment of investigative units at the ministerial level, each headed by a senior executive-grade government official with extensive service experience and prior involvement in investigations, he added.

According to Jayatissa, these officials will examine the operations of state institutions under previous administrations and address ongoing public complaints.

Source: IANS