Unity Plaza computer dealers raided and pirated software seized

Computers dealers at Unity Plaza, Bambalapitiya were caught by Law Enforcement Officers from the Colombo Crimes Division (“CCD”) for selling notebook computers (or PCs) installed with suspected pirated software to innocent and unsuspecting consumers.

The raids were carried out under the direction of DIG Colombo; Gamini Mathurata; Director CCD;ASP Nuwan Vedasingha and Chief Inspector of CCD; Mewan Silva with IP Ranasinghe, IP Deepal and IP S. I. Pieris and team executing the raids.

ASP Ruwan Gunasekera; Media Spokesmen for the Sri Lanka Police said “Raids of this nature are not a daily occurrence in our country but it does not in any way mean that enforcement officers are not vigilant against acts of software piracy in the PC retail market. In fact, this multiple raid at Unity Plaza should act as a reminder to everyone that they are constantly under watch. Computer dealers have a responsibility to their customers, many of who are ordinary consumers that are not IT-savvy.

These raids are not only necessary to protect the interest of unsuspecting consumers who would have ended up being cheated by these unscrupulous businesses with illegal content, but also to safeguard consumers from the looming risk of cyber-attacks and digital risk.

According to a study conducted by IDC-NUS in 2014, it was found that 61% of news PCs sold with pirated software come infected with malware.

The malware included viruses, worms, Trojan horses,rootkits, and unwanted Adware, which had pre-infected the new PCs before they could even access the Internet. There were other problems as well, such as misleading applications, corrupted executables, exploits, and system vulnerabilities.(Bandula)