The inaugural India–Sri Lanka cyber-security consultations in Colombo
India and Sri Lanka have held their first formal cyber-security consultations in Colombo, discussing threats posed by artificial intelligence and the exchange of threat assessments, as New Delhi deepens its security ties with Colombo.
The Indian delegation was led by Sanjay Bahl, director general of the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), and Amit Shukla, joint secretary for cyber diplomacy at India's Ministry of External Affairs, according to the Indian High Commission . Devika Lal, counsellor for economic and commercial affairs at the High Commission, also took part.
The delegation met the Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Eranga Weeraratne, at the GovTech premises on Monday. They discussed cyber-security governance frameworks, the challenges posed by AI, the exchange of threat assessments and CERT-In's practices on capacity building and incident response. The Sri Lankan side said talks also covered strengthening Sri Lanka CERT's ability to identify and respond to cyber threats, cyber-security training for government institutions and the public, and setting up " artificial intelligence-assisted mechanisms for cyber threat assessment ".
The delegation also met Anil Jayantha Fernando, the Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, to discuss cyber-security cooperation for the financial system and digital economy. Talks with Sri Lanka CERT's chairman, Thilak Pathirage, and chief executive, Kanishka Karunasena, covered knowledge exchange, capacity building, cyber-crisis management and national strategies on quantum computing and AI.
File photograph: The Indian defence minister's visit to Sri Lanka in September
The consultations follow the first visit to Sri Lanka by an Indian defence minister in 38 years in September, when the two countries signed three military agreements.
Sri Lankan security forces have long monitored Tamils' online activity. In 2021, the Terrorism Investigation Division arrested a Tamil youth over TikTok posts flagged by a police "cyber patrol unit" and detained him under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and Tamils have been summoned for questioning over their Facebook accounts . The Online Safety Act, passed in 2024, has also been invoked against Tamil media .
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
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