Investigators from the Walana Anti-Corruption Unit have reportedly arrived at the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) in Colombo and taken the department’s computer data system into their custody.
The investigating officers are said to be downloading all of the system’s data. The reports do not say how long the operation will last or what has prompted it.
The operation is described as an urgent one. Professors from the Faculty of Computing at the University of Colombo are taking part, along with officials of the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT). Specialists from GovTech Sri Lanka and from Sri Lanka Telecom are also reported to be involved.
The reports do not name any suspect and do not say that any wrongdoing has been established. No statement from the DMT or from the investigating unit was included in the information available.
Background
The Department of Motor Traffic is the government body that registers motor vehicles and issues driving licences in Sri Lanka. It holds the national records of vehicle ownership, registration numbers and licence holders, and many of its services depend on its computer systems.
SLCERT is the national body that responds to computer security incidents, and GovTech Sri Lanka is the state agency that supports digital systems in government. Their presence alongside university computing experts indicates that the work is focused on securing and copying digital records rather than on paper files.
Taking a full copy of a database is a common step in corruption and fraud inquiries, because it preserves records in their current state before any change can be made.
What it means
Vehicle owners and drivers use the DMT for registration, transfers, revenue licences and driving licence services. It has not been announced whether any of these services will be affected while the data is being copied.
Readers who have business with the department may wish to check for any notice issued by the DMT. Further details are expected to come from the investigators or the department, and this report will need to be read in that light until an official statement is issued. Because the information so far comes from reports rather than an official announcement, the scope of the operation is not yet clear.
