Spike in cybercrime, cyber harassment during pandemic - SLCERT | Daily News

Spike in cybercrime, cyber harassment during pandemic - SLCERT

Incidents of cybercrime and cyber harassment have seen a rapid increase during the period of COVID-19 pandemic with the reported cases rising from 4,000 to 16,000 from 2017 to 2020, Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT) Information Security Engineer Deenadayalan Nagaratnam said.

He was speaking at an online discussion organized by the Institute of National Security Studies (INSS) on “Confronting Cybercrime, Cyber Harassment and Cyber Defamation in a Surging Era of Technology” last Friday.

Nagaratnam stated that according to CID data in 2018, around 90 percent of Sri Lankan university students have become victims of cyber harassment.

The INSS is a premier think tank on National Security established under the Defence Ministry. The Chair of the event was Director General of Centre for Defence Research and Development (CDRD), Major General K. R. P. Rowel (Retd.) INSS Director General Prof.Rohan Gunaratna moderated.A comprehensive dialogue on cybercrimes, research and development and the need for robust reforms was held. The audience comprised researchers, academics, intelligence services, military officers representing the Sri Lankan armed forces and representatives from government and private institutions in the domains of IT and Technology.

Nagaratnam analysed the statistics and how cyberspace activities have affected the public and organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. He highlighted the escalation of incidents related to cybercrime and cyber harassment. Furthermore, he gave his recommendations on how to counter cyber exploitation and explained the information lifecycle. At the end of his presentation, Nagaratnam presented several policy recommendations for National Security. In the Question and Answer session, participants actively contributed by raising timely concerns of different avenues that relate to cyberspace and cyber security

Major General (Retd.)Rowel explained how warfare evolved from a traditional way to a cyber-warfare in the present. In addition, he iterated how Sri Lanka is working on developing the digital infrastructure. 


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