The Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Harshana Suriyapperuma, says that efforts are being made to recover as much as possible of the USD 2.5 million that cyber criminals obtained from the Ministry of Finance.

He made this statement while participating in a media briefing held today (23) at the auditorium of the Ministry.

Harshana Suriyapperuma further said that these hackers had entered the relevant system through email.

He further said that the Australian High Commissioner and the creditor had been informed regarding this incident.

“In January 2026, we came to know that cyber criminals were trying to enter the External Resources Department’s system. When such information was reported, we coordinated with the relevant foreign countries and ensured that no harm was caused to the country that was to receive the payment. That issue was resolved. We felt the need to prepare the necessary procedures to review past payments, because even before January, similar incidents had occurred. Accordingly, it took some time. During that period, it was revealed that the hackers’ activities had also affected a past payment in January,” he said.

Harshana Suriyapperuma noted that it was confirmed that the cyber criminals had accessed emails and defrauded nearly USD 2.5 million from the Ministry of Finance. 

“Even though Sri Lanka had made the due payments, the cyber criminals had intervened and diverted it to other bank accounts, instead of the intended recipient,” he said. 

He added that following these complaints were filed with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka on the incident. 

The Secretary of the Ministry of Finance further said that a committee has been appointed, comprising high-ranking officials of the Finance Ministry and two Deputy Secretaries of the Treasury, to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the matter. 

He added that actions, including disciplinary action against officers, have been taken based on the reports of the committee obtained thus far. (Newswire)

The post $2.5M Treasury diversion : Finance Ministry gives further details appeared first on Newswire.

The Department of Pensions has confirmed that a recent cyberattack targeting its IT infrastructure has not resulted in data loss or a disruption to services, stating that system functions have since been restored, based on current observations.

In an official statement, Director General Chaminda Hettiarachchi assured that the department’s operations remain unaffected and that the implementation of pension revisions announced in the 2025 Budget continues without interruption.

The department noted that it immediately alerted the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT) upon detecting the incident, prompting a swift investigation and the initiation of measures to strengthen cybersecurity defenses. Additional steps have been taken to secure sensitive data handled by the department, the statement said.

While SLCERT continues to investigate the incident, the Department of Pensions said it will notify its service recipients accordingly.

Cybersecurity monitoring platform FalconFeeds.io has attributed the attack to the Cloak ransomware group, a known cybercriminal outfit that typically encrypts sensitive data and demands ransom payments for its release or non-disclosure.

Cybersecurity experts called for urgent action, pointing out that FalconFeeds.io had earlier flagged a data breach involving Cargills Bank in March 2025. (Newswire)

The post Cyber attack : Pension Dept issues clarification appeared first on Newswire.

The Department of Pensions has reportedly been targeted by the Cloak ransomware group, according to cybersecurity monitoring platform FalconFeeds.io.

The scope of the breach, including whether any data was compromised or a ransom demanded, has not yet been confirmed.

While an internal investigation is reportedly underway, the Department of Pensions has not publicly acknowledged any cybersecurity incident.

Cybersecurity analyst Asela Waidyalankara has urged authorities to take swift action following the latest threat, noting that the same monitoring platform (FalconFeeds.io) had previously flagged a data breach involving Cargills Bank in March 2025.

The Cloak ransomware group, identified in this instance, is known for encrypting sensitive data and extorting victims by demanding ransom payments for decryption keys and the non-disclosure of stolen information. (Newswire)

Cloak Ransomware Alert

Department of Pensions

The Department of Pensions in Sri Lanka is a government agency responsible for managing pension schemes for public sector employees, has fallen victim to Cloak Ransomware.

Initially, on April 02, 2025, the group posted… pic.twitter.com/LnEvbV6zjR

— FalconFeeds.io (@FalconFeedsio) May 27, 2025

The post Monitoring platform flags alleged data breach in Sri Lanka’s Pensions Dept appeared first on Newswire.

Several social media platforms of the Sri Lanka Police that were targets of cyber attacks have been restored.

Police Spokesman SSP Buddhika Manatunga told the media that the YouTube, TikTok, ‘X’, Facebook, and Instagram accounts of the Sri Lanka Police had been hacked.

He said, however, all social media platforms have been recovered, except the Police YouTube channel.

SSP Manatunga said measures are underway to recover the YoTube channel, while investigations are underway by the Police Computer Crime Investigation Division into the cyber attacks. (Newswire)

The post Cyber attack on Sri Lanka Police : New Update appeared first on Newswire.