Police today arrested a second suspect in connection with the hacking of President Maithripala Sirisena’s official website.
The suspect is a 26 year old from Moratuwa. Yesterday, the police arrested a 17 year old from Kadugannawa over the incident.
Last week, Sirisena’s official website http://www.president.gov.lk/ came under cyber attack on Thursday and Friday by a group who called themselves the ‘Sri Lankan Youth’.
The hackers urged Sirisena to reconsider the decision to hold the GCE Advanced Level Examination in April, while also expressing their displeasure over the conduct of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and had also urged Sirisena to look into the problems faced by the university students.
In a message in the website in Sinhala they told that if he was not capable of ruling the country, then he should call for a Presidential Election.
Soon after the incident, the CID was tasked with carrying out the investigation with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT).
Native Vedda / August 30, 2016
Wish both of them well, hope both would head SLCERT in the near future if both demonstrate their ability.
The police might consider both of them a huge unspecified threat to national security and could detain them for unspecified time under PTA whilst crooked politicians, some brutal members of police, war criminals, …. who pose real threat to humanity enjoy impunity and freedom, including the gun totting mayor.
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Don Juan Appuhamy / August 31, 2016
CT please try to display only DECENT pictures of INCUMBENT president.
You guys would never display the kind of Pictures of Rajakashes but of Mr. Sirisena. Even if you may dont respect him coming from a Village, but please respect him – above all he is our elected president. That way only you can leave an example to the world.
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Simon De Silva / August 30, 2016
These men should be subjected to rigorous punishments but not focusing their issues closely. If Uni students issues remain unresolved, addressing them going through each and every issues is compulsory.
Negligence of any hard steps against these men, can pave the way all the culprits – but supportive to MR et al win the game.
MR et al are bloody abusive as no others in this country. They can continue their nature on and on. S
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Non PhD / August 30, 2016
Who are the actual people behind “Srilankan Youth” ?
What are their motives ? Any similarities between the creation of BBS and the creation of Srilankan Youth movements ?
If MaRa Bros & Co gracefully adapt to clean politics country can go forward. If they don’t then Yahapalanaya has to carry out what they had promised to the electorate with the full support of the JVP, JHU and other component parties without any fear.
Otherwise dirty politics will continue until it bring back MaRa Bros & Co regime back to power. If that happens it will be a repeat of 1956,57,58 59.
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Paul / August 30, 2016
Sira can get the CID to move fast when he wants to!
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thrishu / August 30, 2016
Oh yes, “redda assey kadiya gihin” a tiger ant invaded his sarong, so it comes off rapidly. What about FCID work?
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Shamil / August 30, 2016
At the age of 26 we are going behind some liquor brands.
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old codger / August 30, 2016
Pretty incompetent hackers. If they don’t know enough to hide their IP address, they shouldn’t be in the business. No wonder many of these guys are against ETCA.
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Native Vedda / August 30, 2016
old codger
“No wonder many of these guys are against ETCA. “
You are 100% right in saying why those little islanders oppose ETCA, FTA, ….
They thrive on ignorance and continue to remain incompetent and then blame Sudda for everything bad/wrong in this island.
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BBS Rep / August 31, 2016
Hang on guys.
Hacking is something totally different.
Most websites have a field for people to respond to website administrators. Seems like these guys legitimately posted grievances. No threats of any kind is observable. It seems like the president or his cronies who run the website were irked when the representatives of the ‘Sri Lankan Youth’ asked the president to step aside if he could not run the country. Quite a legitimate call given the ‘yamapalanaya’ that we are subjected to these days.
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Alan / September 1, 2016
Sri Lankans making big hype about these script-kiddies’ malicious intent and calling them valuable assets only show how ignorant most of us are, including an educated minister, and our addiction to appreciate something morally not right.
Technically speaking, these guys are not real hackers, they are just script kiddies who just use various scripts to gain access to weaker networks or websites, while they have no idea how they actually work (Having a look at their FB accounts, proves it) – And the media also portrait them as hackers. Hackers usually don’t leave an easy trace either.
The interesting part of course, is that they achieved the ultimate goal that is to pass on the message to the president, CC general public through a backdoor which perhaps would have been ignored or reached no higher than a secretary max, if goes through the front door. So rehabilitating this young guy is obviously not going to solve the issue, but to fix the real issue that incited them use the backdoor.
On another note, it is utterly shameful for a nation and truly eye-opening at the same time that an scrip-kiddie could intrude into an official website of a President.
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