The Sri Lankan government will be conducting cyber security training for its workforce as part of its Digital Economy 2030 plans, as per a recent Memorandum of Understanding signing. The MoU with the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team Ministry of Technology (SLCERT), Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS), and ISC2 Colombo Chapter will see 1,000 government officers ...
Spotify has officially announced that its subscription will go up, starting next month. The price hike will come into effect in Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the UK, and at least one other market, with the US to follow later this year. While it’s the second time in less than a year for Spotify, this marks the first time markets like ...
Sri Lankan digital media company Roar Media has shuttered its news publishing arm in light of its content production studio. Roar, which has been in active operations for a decade, has now pivoted from news to a B2B content creation company. Issuing a statement, the company announced that moving forward, it “will be focusing entirely towards the development of platform-specific ...
Following the news of McDonald’s winding up operations in Sri Lanka, Abans PLC has issued a statement claiming that the group isn’t the franchisee of McDonald’s in Sri Lanka. In a letter addressed to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), the company points out that the local franchisee is its Managing Director Rusi Pestonjee’s International Restaurant Systems as opposed to Abans ...
Recently, the Colombo Commercial High Court issued an enjoining order preventing the Abans Group from operating McDonald’s (McD) in Sri Lanka. The order was issued following a lawsuit filed by the franchise owner (McDonald’s Corporation) under the provisions of the Intellectual Property Act, No. 36 of 2003. Effective until the 4th of April, the enjoining order also included the closure ...
The much-anticipated opening of Sri Lanka’s first IMAX movie theatre may be just months away. According to Chassy Cortes, Head of Marketing and PR at Scope Cinemas, the IMAX theatre is set for a 2024 launch. While the company didn’t offer a specific date, Chassy stated that the tentative plan is to open up the theatre in time for the ...
Gamer.LK recently announced the launch of its original mobile game, ‘Cricket Sixes’. Developed in-house, Cricket Sixes aims to shake up the mobile cricket gaming space in South Asia, offering a unique, competitive experience designed for both casual and hardcore gamers. Cricket Sixes which combines the thrill of cricket with the accessibility of mobile gaming, marks Gamer.LK’s venture into game development. ...
The YouTube channel of ITN Sri Lanka, which hosts over 2 million subscribers, has been hacked in what appears to be another crypto scam-related cyberattack. It’s unclear how the channel was hijacked and ITN has yet to offer any official statement regarding the present circumstances. High-profile YouTube channels have been routinely getting hacked by crypto scams in recent years, with ...
The National Water Supply and Drainage Board’s revamped online portal may have some security vulnerabilities that could comprise user data. First pointed out by @ishanul on Twitter, the NWSDB Online platform’s APIs are open in a way that would allow malicious actors to extract sensitive user data with ease. The vulnerability could potentially expose data such as email addresses, mobile ...
Recently, the Finance Ministry announced that the government has pushed the deadline for some of the announced tax changes by one month. Accordingly, individuals now have until February 1 for vehicle registration, revenue licenses, and property purchases without a tax file. As of now, individuals 18 years or older and residents of Sri Lanka starting January 1, 2024 are to ...
After days of ambiguous posts about an upcoming broadband offer, SLT has finally unveiled its latest addition to its service, “midnight thriller”. Starting January 1, all SLT home broadband users can surf the internet for free between 12.00 am and 7.00 am. In other words, no data will be deducted from your package during this period. Over the years, consumers ...
With 2024 almost here, SLT appears to be prepping for a new home broadband offering. The telecom operator recently shared teasers about “a new home broadband experience” on social media. SLT followed this up hinting “unlimited internet” and “free data.” The company further indicated that existing broadband users may get free unlimited data and higher download/upload speeds. It’s worth taking ...
The dawn of the digital era has brought about a paradigm shift, moving away from transactional interactions to crafting immersive, engaging experiences. In this dynamic landscape, traditional frameworks with rigid project-based approaches no longer suffice. Successful digital frontrunners share a common transformative element: the shift from a project-centric to a product-centric mindset. This shift is more than an operational change; ...
Gamer.LK has announced Play Expo & Colombo Comic Expo 2023, the annual event centered around gaming, pop culture, and the digital entertainment landscape in Sri Lanka. Scheduled for the 9th and 10th of December 2023 at the Sri Lanka Exhibition & Convention Center (SLECC), the event comes back for the first time since the pandemic, signaling renewed interest in the ...
The sale of SLT’s 50.23% stake has hit a bump in the road owing to Mobitel’s ongoing court case against the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL). A few months ago, the state enterprise took the regulator to court in opposition to the proposed acquisition of Airtel Sri Lanka by Dialog Axiata, citing monopoly concerns. Back in May, Dialog ...
Aiming to foster entrepreneurial mindsets among school children in Sri Lanka, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, together with the Ministry of Education and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Country Office for Sri Lanka and the Maldives will launch the Schoolpreneur 2023: School Entrepreneurship Day, across Sri Lanka, on 16 th November. Schoolpreneur 2023 will span across schools in all nine ...
In continuation of my previous article, Three Steps to Deliver Rich Digital Experiences, let’s now take a deeper dive into the crux of digital transformation: the digital core. As a technical decision-maker, it’s essential to recognize that nurturing a robust digital core goes beyond technology adoption. It involves establishing a dynamic ecosystem that synergizes technology, people, and architecture. Doing so ...
Earlier today, Bank of Ceylon’s online systems appeared to have gone offline. According to several customers, BOC’s online banking was down for the entirety of the day, with its customer service being equally unresponsive. The Sunday Times reported that Bank of Ceylon was hit with a malware attack. However, BOC’s infosec team has denied the claim, stating that it’s a ...
As part of the GSMA Open Gateway initiative, Sri Lankan telecom operators recently announced the commercial launch of country-wide network APIs. Through this program, developers would have improved means of building products and services that work smoothly across every mobile network as well as many other global networks. What’s the GSMA Open Gateway initiative? GSMA Open Gateway is a framework ...
Recently, we reported about a possible data breach at PickMe where a leaker under the pseudonym PieWithNothing claimed to be in possession of 4 million PickMe customer records. The company refuted any implication of the supposed leak and that it had “investigated such claims thoroughly and have ruled out the alleged data breach.” PickMe went on to clarify specifics around ...