It would have to be someone at the system providers end who was in a position to do so. All they had to do was to change the user's internet address and the password. Since details of Mr. Samaraweera's official credit card appeared in the media, he feels that someone had used the number to gain access to the porn sites. It has now transpired that the media did not publish the expiry date of the card a requirement that has to be fed into the computer before obtaining access to restricted sites. In addition, porn sites on the internet also ask for the user's e-mail address.
Detectives are to take charge of the invoices sent by the porn site operators.
Ceybank, whose card was used by the Minister, maintains that the invoices are cleared by the Merchant Bank in Singapore. In view of bureaucratic procedures, this is said to take time. The billion rupee question is whether Mr. Samaraweera would now want the matter pursued to the ultimate for it would be a battle between the Minister and the men at SLT who are out to take revenge in what has come to be a cyber war of different sorts. More than 6000 policemen and security forces personnel have been deployed and scores of additional security force check points set up in the city. Traffic movements in the city will be severely restricted until Friday in view of the rehearsal today and other programmes of the summit.