Cyber attacks, a distinct possibility - Defence Secy

Jeewani PATHIRANA

There is a high possibility of cyber attacks in the wake of the development and expansion of Internet facilities, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said.

He was addressing the inauguration of the 5th annual Cyber Security Week organised by the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team Coordination Centre (Sri Lanka CERTCC), the representative of Sri Lanka Information and Telecommunication Technological Institute (ICTA) yesterday. The Defence

Secretary said they should guard against possible cyber attacks in an era where most public services are provided by banks and state run institutions with the help of the Internet. “We should get together to make common efforts to draft strategic plans to face such a situation since this has become a major challenge of the era,” he said.

Since 2008, Sri Lanka CERT has been conducting an annual security awareness programme titled Cyber Security Week (CSW) with the objective of building awareness and updating knowledge on key security areas that matter both locally and globally, commercially and personally and to understand emerging technologies and the security issues pertaining to those technologies.

The programme will further provide a meeting ground for like minded individuals with a special interest in information security to forge alliances, share knowledge and experience and build consensus on security issues of the day.