'Trained personnel needed to tackle cyber crime'

Ruwanthi ABEYAKOON

There is a need for trained personnel, competent judges and lawyers who can tackle cyber crime rising rapidly in Sri Lanka, Scientific Affairs Senior Minister Professor Tissa Vitarana said.

Professor Tissa Vitarana

Professor W I Siriweera

Delivering the keynote address at the round table discussion on 'Contemporary Cyber Security Redefined', the minister said even though Sri Lanka has the legal framework against those committing cyber crime, the lack of personnel to detect the offenders should be addressed.

"Many countries have specially trained teams and well trained investigative police to make detections and correctly identify those who have committed the crimes.

"Computer Crimes Act No 24 is an accepted law in Sri Lanka. The key factor is to have trained personnel to investigate the crimes," he said.

The minister said communication through computer and IT is essential not only to keep up with the rest of the world but also for economic and social development.

"Interaction, commercial and business transactions and trade through the computer have heaped up immeasurably. It further facilitates criminal activities. Society as a whole, while we move into the computer age, has to move with cyber security," Professor Vitarana said. Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS) Acting Director Professor W I Siriweera said a dialogue should be initiated amongst institutions, law enforcement agencies and IT specialists on combating the growing challenges posed by non-traditional security threats.

It was also noted at the discussion that people are becoming increasingly internet savvy. According to Telecommunication Regulatory Commission statistics, Internet penetration in Sri Lanka has gone up by 1.2 million as at March 2012.

This has led to a rapid growth of cyber crimes. The cyber crimes reported in 2008 which stood at 49 have increased to nearly 1,500 by 2011.

The round table discussion was organised by the BCIS in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team Coordination Centre.