News
80% complaints SLCERT receives are related to social media
By Rathindra Kuruwita
Approximately 80 percent of the complaints Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT) receives are related to social media, Senior Information Security Engineer at SLCERT, Charuka Damunupola said.
Apart from this, there are complaints of hackers entering websites and deleting data, and ransomware as well.
“Now there is a lot of discussion on phone hacking. These are mainly phishing attacks,” he said.
Phishing attacks are fraudulent emails, text messages, phone calls or websites that are designed to trick users into downloading malware, sharing sensitive information or personal data (for example, Social Security and credit card numbers, bank account numbers, login credentials), or taking other actions that expose themselves or their organizations to cybercrime.
Damunupola said last year they received 31,548 complaints, most of them are issues that arose during social media usage.
“There was a marked increase in online scams. We received 1,609 such complaints. We can divide these scams into several subcategories. You may receive a link by someone who promises you a foreign job. Once you click the link you are taken to a website that asks you for documents such as copies of your NIC, birth certificate, passport, etc. You may pull back at the last moment and not pay them any money, but you are giving very sensitive personal information to malicious third parties. There are many things that such malicious people can do with such sensitive information,” he said.
Damunupola said cyber-criminal can use the copy of an NIC and open an online banking account. If that account is used for criminal activity, investigators might end up suspecting the person whose NIC was used.
“There is currently a scam that is targeting journalists these days. You may receive a message from someone in your friends’ list saying that he or she has applied for a journalism programme that requires votes from his or her Facebook friends. Then you will receive an OTP and the person that reached out to you will ask for the OTP. This is usually the OTP Facebook sends when someone requests a password reset. The moment you give the OTP away, you lose access to the Facebook account,” he said.
Damunupola said that during COVID parents had to buy devices and internet access for their children. There have been many instances where children have used credit cards of their parents for micro transactions, i.e., where users can purchase in-game virtual goods with micropayments. He added that most people are being lured to pyramid schemes in the guise of investing in cryptocurrencies.
“We can’t turn back the clock now. Smartphones have now become indispensable. The entire country was exposed to the QR system during the fuel crisis. We just need to know the limitations and the dark side of technology. Parents also need to think about being a gatekeeper as regard to what the child has access to,” he said.
Damunupola said Sri Lankans must also be weary of what they post on social media. They also need to be weary when taking photos that may compromise them at a later date.
“There are many instances where people at phone shops recover very personal photos and misuse them.
Sri Lanka Naval Ship (SLNS) Sindurala arrived at the port of Visakhapatnam in India on 17 September 2026, to participate in the bilateral naval exercise ‘SLINEX – 2026’.
The Indian Navy formally welcomed the SLN vessel upon its arrival, adhering to naval traditions.
The joint exercise will take place on 20 and 21 September in the seas off the east coast of India. On 18 September, the Commanding Officer SLNS Sindurala, Captain Sunanda Appuhamy, held official discussions with Commander Suraj Aiyappa, Commanding Officer Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kavaratti, aboard both vessels.
The annual exercise aims to enhance cooperation, interoperability, and professional exchange between the two navies. During the exercise, crew members from SLNS Sindurala will also participate in several professional and cultural exchanges organized by the Indian Navy.
Advisory for strong winds and rough seas for Multi-day boats in the Bay of Bengal deep sea areas
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 05.00 p.m. 18 September 2026, valid for the next 24 hours.
PLEASE BE AWARE!
The atmospheric disturbance to the North of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, is likely to develop into a low pressure area within the next 24 hours.
Due to its influence, wind speed over the Bay of Bengal sea areas will increase during the next few days starting from
tomorrow (19th).
The wind speed in the sea areas marked under the “Advisory” category on the map below will increase to 55-65 kmph at times and those sea areas will be rough or very rough at times.
Navel and fishing communities engaging the activities over this sea area are advised to be vigilant and be attentive to the future forecasts and bulletins issued by the department of Meteorology in this regards.
Text and Pic by Priyan de Silva
Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption (CIABOC) Ranga Dissanayake has questioned whether some promises contained in the National People’s Power (NPP) manifesto, A Thriving Nation – A Beautiful Life, could be fulfilled even if the government wanted to implement them.
Dissanayake raised the issue during a discussion following the release of the third biannual report on manifesto monitoring by the March 12 Movement, at the BMICH, on Wednesday.
He questioned whether the report had taken into account legal and institutional constraints affecting the implementation of certain pledges.
Citing the proposal to establish Anti-Corruption Investigation Offices in each district, Dissanayake said such offices could be established only with the agreement of CIABOC and that amendments to the Anti-Corruption Act would be necessary.
He also referred to the pledge to abolish the Executive Presidency, noting that successive governments had made similar commitments since 1994. He questioned whether there had been adequate consideration of where the powers vested in the Executive President would be transferred if the system were abolished.
On the proposal to establish a Public Prosecutor, Dissanayake questioned whether the Government intended to maintain the office alongside the Attorney General, who currently performs prosecution-related functions.
Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES) Manjula Gajanayake said Dissanayake’s remarks should be regarded as his personal views and not as Government policy.
Monitoring and Evaluation Consultants M. Thilakarajah and D.D. Mataharaarachchi presented the third-phase findings, covering January to June 2026.
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SLNS Sindurala arrives in Visakhapatnam for SLINEX 2026
Advisory for strong winds and rough seas for Multi-day boats in the Bay of Bengal
Showers in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya Districts
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