In the incident where the US $2.5 million paid to an Australian institution as a foreign loan installment ended up in the hands of a third party, the government is now aware of the location of the money.
Explaining further, he He said that according to initial investigations, it has been confirmed that no official within the ministry was directly involved in this, and that the money has been credited to a specific account, so there is a clear digital trail through it, and that the information is being kept confidential for the time being for the security of the investigations.
He pointed out that this incident was not a “hack” that infiltrated the digital system, but a complex deception using a “domain” name and email addresses similar to the name of the relevant international company.
He also said that the National Cyber Security Operations Center, which monitors the government’s main digital systems 24 hours a day, has been established to ensure the security of public funds. Currently, 12 institutions have been connected to this, and in the future, 37 government institutions, including the Ministry of Finance, are scheduled to be included in this secure system.
He added that since this happened through the banking system, the necessary measures will be taken in collaboration with international law enforcement agencies and banks to recover the money.
“The officers inside the institution “We do not see any connection. What happened was an oversight due to a failure to understand the slight difference in the relevant email messages. However, a final conclusion will be reached through a ‘digital forensic’ investigation,” said Deputy Minister Eranga Weeraratne.