Cyber criminals have hacked Sri Lanka’s finance ministry, stealing millions of dollars destined to repay debts to Australia.
The Sri Lankan government confirmed it had lost more than $3.7 million when criminals hacked into the department’s computer system and email servers.
It is the largest amount of cash ever stolen by hackers from a state institution in Sri Lanka which is a major blow to the debt-ridden country.
Finance ministry secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma said authorities were alerted to a break-in to the ministry’s e-mail server which showed a payment owed to Australia had disappeared.
“Criminal investigators are looking into this and we are not in a position to give further details,” he said.
Sri Lankan authorities have sought…