Sri Lanka announced on Tuesday that a payment of approximately $625,000 (around 199.7 million Sri Lankan rupees) to the U.S. Postal Service has been missing for several weeks after U.S. officials reported the payment hadn’t arrived, local media reports. Authorities identified the issue when hackers allegedly attempted to redirect another payment meant for India.
Australian officials are reportedly aware of payment irregularities owed to the country, which suggests that the Sri Lankan thefts may be more extensive than initially perceived.
This disclosure comes shortly after Sri Lankan authorities stated they were investigating the theft of $2.5 million by a hacker targeting the country’s finance ministry.
Treasury Secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma told reporters last week that the hackers diverted the payment from the postal authority “to other bank accounts, instead of the intended recipient.”
These incidents appear to be business email compromise attacks, where hackers infiltrate email inboxes or accounting systems to alter bank accounts and routing numbers during the invoice payment process.
Business email compromise scams are frequent among cybercriminals, with FBI data highlighting these attacks as major sources of cybercriminal profits, as hackers can steal substantial amounts of money through one breach. The FBI reports that email compromise attacks led to billions of dollars in losses last year.
News of these successive security breaches has intensified pressure on the Sri Lankan government after years of financial struggles. The country is still recovering from an economic crisis that caused a debt default in 2022, leading to protests that resulted in the ousting of then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
It remains unclear if the two thefts are related. Member of Parliament Nalinda Jayatissa mentioned that the government is investigating whether the incidents are connected.