Sajith criticizes allowing the hacker to take money

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa emphasized in a special statement that proper security measures were not followed when the responsibility for paying Sri Lanka's foreign debt and interest installments was removed from the Central Bank and transferred to the State Debt Management Agency and the Foreign Resources Agency under a new system, and that as a result, a sum of twenty-five lakhs of US dollars that was to be paid to Australia has gone missing due to a cyber attack. He pointed out that this pickpocketing of the public's tax money by a hacker has created a very serious crisis regarding the country's financial security.

The Opposition Leader accused that although this theft occurred last January, a committee to investigate it was appointed only in March, and the current government as well as the Ministry of Finance have worked to conceal this massive financial loss from Parliament and the public until yesterday. Although the full authority and responsibility for financial matters lie with Parliament, he raised serious doubts about the transparency and independence of these investigations, given that this matter was kept a secret for several months and a committee comprising officials from the very institution involved in the incident was appointed to conduct the investigations.

The Opposition Leader pointed out that even amidst ongoing investigations into the loss of such a large sum of money due to a cyber attack, the State Debt Management Agency, which is primarily responsible for it, has even received a Commonwealth Debt Management Award. He stated that although many security protocols such as Registered Whitelisted emails, Email indemnities, and Call of verification exist for conducting international financial transactions through a banking system, the Ministry of Finance and the relevant institutions have not implemented them properly. Furthermore, he emphasized the need for an impartial investigation into the disregard of these warnings, despite the Central Bank having repeatedly cautioned the Debt Management Agency about the importance of using secure methods in the transaction process.

Mr. Premadasa criticized that although the current government boasted of creating a 'smart government' and a digitized state, the entire state administrative machinery has ultimately been defeated by a fraudulent hacker. Stating that the group who came to power by introducing themselves as 'walking libraries' and claiming to protect state property has ultimately failed to ensure the country's financial security, he questioned whether the compensation for this lost twenty-five lakhs of US dollars would once again be covered by the innocent public's tax money. The Opposition Leader further stated that the current administration, which has become an incompetent government, must immediately answer this problem, and that modern methods should be urgently adopted regarding cyber security and financial transactions in the country.