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SL Army on ‘war footing’ for Cyber Security
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has begun training communications specialists to counter emerging Cyber Security (CS) threats, Army Commander Lt.Gen. Mahesh Senanayake said this week.
“With the rapid growth of technology and connectivity, CS is fast becoming a domain of war, espionage and criminal activity which constitute national security threats to nations, irrespective of their size and traditional military strengths,” the Army Chief said at a press briefing in Colombo. He emphasised the need for awareness and being proactive in building CS resilience and defensive capabilities for Sri Lanka.
“We need to improve our cyber space capabilities to match advancements made by foreign nations. The Sri Lanka Signals Corps (SLSC) must have the capacity to deal with these new threats and counter them in the future,” he said.
“The SLA was in the process of incorporating CS at doctrinal level and views the threats which arise from it as a national security concern,” Lt.Gen. Senanayake said. “Senior SLA Officers have expressed concern about the CS vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure in Sri Lanka and the general lack of awareness among the population.”
To bring about awareness of the importance of CS, the SLA has organized a CS Symposium titled “Wave”, under the theme of “Cyberspace, Perpetual Battlefront of the future” and an ICT exhibition from November 28-29, at the BMICH, under the patronage of the SLSC which is celebrating its 75th Anniversary this year.
The exhibition will showcase modern and sophisticated electronic warfare equipment, CS platforms invented by SLA IT experts, the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), Police and private sector inventors, including universities and private companies. Around 160 stalls are expected to fill the exhibition at the BMICH. There will be a special stall to provide information to potential ICT professionals interested in serving in the SLA. The SLSC is looking to enlist skilled individuals to strengthen its ranks for CS operations. The exhibition is open to the public and will be attended by local, regional and global IT professionals, at the invitation of the SLSC. Among the invitees are experts from India, China, Russia, Pakistan and several other countries.
The SLSC, established in 1943, played a pivotal role during the ‘Eelam War’, providing communications, electronic warfare and signal intelligence to enable military operations and coordination between the armed forces. Recently, the SLCS raised the 12th Regiment, a specialized unit tasked with CS operations for the SLA. The SLA is in the process of digitising their records and information. Data security and network security are essential in today’s security environment. The 12th Regiment SLCS works closely with the SLN, SLAF and other national security agencies such as the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT). The Regiment also conducts CS audits of vital SLA installations to assess their weaknesses and improve defences. The SLAF and SLN have also established CS units in the recent past.