Everyone should remember the dread felt of going into an exam and feeling utterly unprepared. Most of us just grit our teeth, sharpen our HB2s, and hope for the best.
One Sri Lankan 17 year old had a better idea, and decided to hack the official website of President Maithripala Sirisena under the moniker “The Sri Lankan Youth“. The teen demanded that the country’s A Level exams be rescheduled from April, where they’d be in close proximity to Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebrations.
The teen also demanded that the government improve the security of Sri Lankan websites, and called on the President to “stop the prime minister’s irresponsible work and look more into the problems of the university students.”
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
The defaced website was quickly taken down and replaced with an “out-of-order” notice. Not long after it was hacked again, and the original threatening message was restored.
For his troubles, the teen was promptly arrested, and now faces a fine of 300,000 rupees ($2,000) and up to three years in jail. According to Agence France Presse, this is the first time a teenager has been arrested under Sri Lanka’s cybercrime laws.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.