Cricket legend Aravinda says thank you to CERT

Cricket legend Aravinda de Silva has come down hard on individuals hiding behind the net and creating false identities of people on social media and advises those affected by such instances to contact CERT – Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team based at the BMICH.

De Silva said that he was shocked to get calls from several people stating that he was now on Facebook and responding to comments made on it.

“I didn’t realize it until people started to phone me and I told them that I was never on Facebook and I was not a social media fan,” said De Silva.

“Someone had taken my identity and created a Facebook under my name and thereby giving a false impression to the world that I was on social media and responding to the comments.

“When I came to know of it I informed the CID who directed me to CERT. They complained to Facebook and took immediate action to block my false identity and remove it from the website,” de Silva stated. “I am thankful to CERT for responding so fast and taking appropriate action.”

De Silva stated that this is a serious issue and it has led to several schoolchildren and youths being affected by such false identities of them being created on social media that has led to some of them even committing suicide.

“I appeal to those who are affected by such incidents to get in touch with CERT before things get out of hand,” said De Silva.

TechCERT is Sri Lanka’s first and largest Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT). It was originally formed as a pioneering project of the LK Domain Registry and its academic partners, as a way of providing a safety net for large and small organization against cyber- attacks and emergency situations. They can be contacted on +94114462562 or email on help@techcert.lk