Minister Chandana Abeyrathne stated that a formal complaint has been lodged with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) regarding an apparent cyberattack targeting the official website of the Ministry of Public Administration.

The Minister noted that the complaint was filed through the intervention of the Ministry Secretary.

Recent reports indicate that the Ministry’s website was subjected to a cyberattack, during which the perpetrators allegedly attempted to auction data obtained from the site for financial gain.

However, Minister Abeyrathne clarified that no highly sensitive information was compromised and that according to available reports, only general public information appears to have been accessed by third parties.

In response to the breach, the Minister confirmed that the CID has been tasked with conducting an investigation. In parallel, the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT) has also initiated a separate inquiry into the incident.

When inquired by Ada Derana, Senior Information Security Officer at SLCERT, Charuka Damunupola stated that the organisation is also conducting a technical investigation into a separate incident involving the diversion of USD 2.5 million in Finance Ministry funds to a third party during a foreign debt repayment by the Treasury.

He further noted that while SLCERT is examining the technical details and root causes of these breaches, the CID is leading investigations to identify and apprehend those responsible.