Police flag a surge in Telegram and WhatsApp scams, OTP fraud and fake job lures; Inspector General directs all stations to act and refers cases to the CCID.
South Korean police seek an arrest warrant for YouTuber Kim Se-ui, who allegedly used an AI-generated voice recording to falsely incriminate actor Kim Soo-hyun.
Elon Musk's company launches its biggest rocket yet from Texas; the 124-metre Starship V3 lands in the Indian Ocean in a planned fiery explosion.
Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa told the WHA79 session on AI in health that Sri Lanka would build a regulator under the PDPA with ethical safeguards.
Sri Lanka launched CROPIX, an FAO-backed digital seed certification system, to modernise the seed value chain and improve agriculture productivity.
Audio frames with Gemini AI, by Warby Parker and Gentle Monster with Samsung development, will challenge Meta's Ray-Ban lead of seven million units.
Deputy Digital Economy Minister says inter-agency data sharing centre will rest on a formal legal framework with mandatory citizen consent for transfers.
UN Resident Coordinator confirms system mapping and baseline surveys complete on Sri Lanka's UNDP-WHO led CRVS digitalisation project, due late 2027.
A US jury in Oakland unanimously ruled against Musk's lawsuit accusing OpenAI of straying from its nonprofit AI mission, deliberating less than two hours.
At Asia Tech 2026, Deputy Minister Eranga Weeraratne and the Gates Foundation discuss AI for Public Good, draft AI policy review, IDAT 2 and a GovTech visit.
Cabinet okays a National Space Policy under the Ministry of Science and Technology, with a multidisciplinary technical committee to draft the framework.
Government and PayPal confirmed the Sri Lanka launch at a Galle Face Hotel event on Friday, with BOC, Commercial Bank and Sampath Bank as initial partners.
Deputy Public Administration Minister Ruwan Senarath says all remaining local government institutions will be onboarded onto the GovPay platform by June.
A University of Moratuwa and Decryptogen team built a Sinhala LLM on two GPUs that scored 4.5/5 versus Llama 3.1's 1/5, with the paper accepted by IEEE Access.
WSO2 said founder Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana will step down as CEO in June 2026; Chief Revenue Officer Devaka Randeniya becomes Acting CEO as a search begins.
Google unveiled Gemini Intelligence and Android AI upgrades at its Android Show ahead of I/O 2026, with most features rolling out as free software updates.
Sri Lanka Export Development Board's second European market exposure programme with Germany's IPD takes five tech firms to Hannover, Berlin and Stockholm.
The US Embassy will host a GeoAI exhibition at Colombo University on May 14, showcasing AI disaster-mapping tools developed since Cyclone Ditwah.
Sri Lankan fintech Payable has been acquired by Short Circuit Group, adding 4,000-plus merchants and 200 million dollars in transaction volume to the buyer.
Deputy Minister Eranga Weeraratne says talks are in final stages to establish a dedicated 6G research centre by the third quarter of 2026.
Motorists can now verify the validity of digital motor insurance cards by dialling *1338#, SMS to 1338 or calling the hotline, all free of charge, police said.
PM Harini met Rotary International and tech leaders on digital education, targeting 100 smart classrooms and 6,000 digitally-trained teachers per year.
The UGC and US Embassy launched Sri Lanka's first national AI policy framework for higher education at a soft launch attended by PM Harini Amarasuriya.
Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa says AKD opposed foreign involvement as MP, now letting an Indian firm handle Sri Lankans' biometric data on a Rs.40 billion contract.
BIA will closely monitor arrivals from countries whose nationals have been arrested in Sri Lanka for cybercrime, the Immigration Controller General says.
Meta has abandoned plans to make end-to-end encryption default on Instagram DMs from May 8, citing low opt-in rates.
The Police Media Division has corrected an April 23 advisory that mistakenly listed SriLankan Airlines' real hotline among fraudster numbers.
Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala tells Parliament reported cases climbed 50% year-on-year, with deepfakes and AI-generated images driving harassment.
Police rearrest 21 Chinese and 9 Vietnamese nationals who fled Welisara detention and resumed online financial fraud from a rented Boralesgamuwa house.
Police picked up 74 Vietnamese at a Uttarananda Mawatha housing complex on Wednesday evening, hours after 60 foreigners were detained at a nearby building.
Prof. Anuradhi Hapuarachchi tells ITV the USD 2.5m theft could enable manipulation of fiscal policy and threatens public confidence in digital payments.
Wednesday afternoon raid widens the cybercrime crackdown into central Colombo days after 157 suspects were detained in Rajagiriya and Talangama.
North Western Province cyber unit arrested a 62-year-old woman over a video-call blackmail scam after a victim was forced to transfer Rs. 100,000.
Women and Child Affairs Minister says a PM-led committee has recommended barring children under 5 from screens and under 12 from social media.
Organised cybercrime syndicates from Myanmar and Dubai may be shifting to Sri Lanka; 157 people of nine nationalities arrested in three days, 37 deported.
Sri Lanka CERT urges users to ignore unknown WhatsApp video calls after a wave of recorded explicit-call blackmail demands money via foreign bank transfers.
Engineer Vasantha Saparamadu says any confirmation code can pull tourist passport data from the ETA visa page; flagged with SLCERT in October, still unfixed.
Presidential Secretariat circular sets up the 400-member Public-Impact Champions Network across 95 ministries, SOEs and PCs to drive digitalisation.
Vengadasalam Balagobi says ISO 42001 offers a practical framework as boardrooms grapple with bias, privacy and regulatory compliance risks from generative AI.
Cultus and AWS roll out free cloud, AI and Industry 4.0 courses for Sri Lankan students and unemployed youth, targeting the country's job-readiness gap.
Jana Aragalaya Movement alleges decision-making over Sri Lanka's biometric ID is being ceded to India, with a blacklisted firm now on the bidder list.
Citizens Development Business Finance has rolled out a merchant device that gives instant voice confirmation of QR transactions, with card support to follow.
Customs Department rolls out Cargo Flow, a remittances portal and an e-Vessel Service Charges system as part of its modernisation push.
A school group photo of 16 female teachers was manipulated and circulated on WhatsApp; police found the doctored images on four students' phones.
HelaPay has surpassed Rs. 5 billion in cumulative transactions through the Helakuru SuperApp — fivefold growth from the Rs. 1bn mark reached in two years.
Cabinet has cleared a bill to establish a National Cyber Security Regulatory Authority, with the draft expected to reach Parliament in two to three months.
Telecom regulator will stand up its own coverage monitoring system this year and stop relying on operator-supplied data, DG Bandula Herath says.
EQT-backed IT services firm Virtusa, founded in Sri Lanka in 1996, plans an Indian IPO of at least $1 billion following a roadshow in the second half of 2026.
Digital Economy and Public Administration ministries issue interim guidelines directing state institutions to adopt IT tools and remote service delivery.
Digital Trust Alliance and professional bodies wrote to President AKD urging structured cybersecurity governance after the USD 2.5M Treasury heist.
Jury selection has begun in Elon Musk's lawsuit accusing OpenAI and Sam Altman of betraying the AI lab's original nonprofit mission.
Ten Sri Lankan ICT companies generated over USD 2 million in business prospects and 300+ leads at Japan IT Week Spring 2026 in Tokyo, the EDB said.
Department of Registration of Persons warns of a fake website and scam numbers harvesting personal data under the guise of Digital ID registration.
Digital Economy Ministry says only 12 of 37 cabinet-approved bodies are connected so far; push follows Treasury and Public Admin cyber incidents.
Sam Altman says OpenAI is 'deeply sorry' for not alerting police to the Tumbler Ridge shooter's banned ChatGPT account; BC premier calls apology insufficient.
Five Sri Lankan banks issued simultaneous warnings on Friday over a coordinated phishing campaign using look-alike websites to steal customer credentials.
Finance Ministry will replace plastic insurance cards with a digital version from May 1, in collaboration with IRCSL, IASL and Sri Lanka Police.
Digital Deputy Minister Eranga Weeraratne says the $2.5M Treasury fraud was a phishing scam using a fake domain; Harsha de Silva calls it gross incompetence.
Minister Chandana Abeyratne lodges CID complaint after attackers attempted to auction data from the Ministry of Public Administration website.
Meta lays off around 8,000 workers while Microsoft offers voluntary redundancy to about 8,750 as both firms funnel capital into AI.
Scammers using NIC Office lookalike hotlines and a fake e-NIC app to steal personal data; Department for Registration of Persons issues public warning.
Sri Lanka Police warn of malicious .apk files disguised as wedding invitations or lottery notices that read OTPs and drain victims' bank accounts.
Colombo Chief Magistrate makes permanent conditional orders against two respondents in the first case ever filed under Sri Lanka's Online Safety Act.
A fintech analyst told The Island the $2.5M diversion was likely Business Email Compromise via altered payment instructions, not a deep cyber intrusion.
Sri Lanka Police say a malicious 'SriLankan.apk' distributed via WhatsApp acts as a banking trojan, capturing OTPs, PINs and biometric data.
Apple announced Tim Cook will become executive chairman and John Ternus will succeed him as CEO effective September 1, ending Cook's 15-year tenure.
The CCID North Western Unit arrested a 22-year-old Minuwangoda suspect over a fake bank website fraud that netted Rs. 1,000,024.
One-day and regular NIC services are operational again after a three-day computer system breakdown that began April 17, the DRP confirmed.
Over 10,000 cybercrime complaints filed in 2025 as criminals impersonate police to extort victims, the CID warns post-Avurudu.
Customs at Bandaranaike airport arrested nine Chinese nationals on April 16 with 383 phones, 101 tablets and routers concealed on their bodies, worth Rs. 24M.
All Department for Registration of Persons offices will close on Friday, April 17, while technical teams work to restore a computer system breakdown.
Sri Lanka Transport Board Chairman Sanjeewa Kanagaratne said arrangements are in place to introduce a card-only fare system on SLTB buses within months.
Senior DIG and Indian security expert urge digital vigilance as traditional crimes evolve into sophisticated cyber offences.
Sri Lanka replaces ICTA with two new entities backed by $125M from World Bank and ADB, restructuring digital governance.
Two Chinese nationals arrested at Bandaranaike Airport with 84 Apple phones suspected for use in cyber financial fraud.
The 1,412-panel rooftop solar project covers six buildings, generating 1,250 MWh annually and cutting 850 tonnes of carbon.
SLCERT and fact-checkers flag a viral deepfake video falsely claiming Sangakkara endorses a fraudulent investment scheme.
CBSL-regulated Dialog subsidiary rolls out UnionPay-backed virtual cards with customisable spending caps and upcoming Tap-to-Pay support.
Dr. Vidura Ralapanawe says EV grid-strain claims lack evidence — heatwave air conditioning demand is the real cause of Sri Lanka's power shortages.
DRP warns fraudsters are impersonating officials via its official hotline number, as a second system outage halts most NIC services on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka's cabinet has approved a three-phase Rs. 563 million platform to centralise ICT procurement across state agencies in a single marketplace.
Kaspersky ranked Sri Lanka 48th globally for local threat exposure in 2025, with 37.4% of users hit by malware spread via USB drives and removable media.
The Registrar General's Department opened a trilingual 1930 call centre and redesigned website on its 161st anniversary, part of the digital government push.
The national carrier said fraudsters posing as staff are contacting customers via WhatsApp and calls to extract OTPs, PINs and card data ahead of Avurudu.
Senior SLAS officer moves from Kegalle District Secretariat to lead the agency at the heart of Sri Lanka's national ID and digital identity rollout.
World's largest crypto exchange rolls out Web3 education workshops for 265 students across four major universities.
MDR fee eliminated for small transactions at 450,000 merchant locations from April 6 in digital payments push.