Hackers breached system via email, efforts underway to recover funds - Finance Secretary
April 23, 2026 03:52 pm
The Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma says that efforts are already underway to recover as much as possible of the USD 2.5 million in funds obtained by cyber criminals who breached a computer system at the Finance Ministry.
He made these remarks while addressing a media briefing held at the Ministry today (23).
Dr. Suriyapperuma stated that investigations have revealed the hackers gained access to the system in question through email.
He further noted that the Australian High Commissioner and the relevant creditor have been informed about the incident.
Secretary Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma further added:
“In January, we became aware that cybercriminals were attempting to access the system. Once this was reported, we contacted the relevant foreign countries and prevented the attempt. The situation was brought under control.”
He added that concerns had arisen regarding similar previous attempts, prompting authorities to review past transactions. During this process, it was discovered that hackers had been active regarding a previous payment made in January as well.
