Madu Ratnayake, Co-Founder and Chairman of Scybers, commenting on the recently enacted Personal Data Protection (PDP) Act, its implications for organisations and individuals stated: “I think we are seeing progress in many aspects with regard to data protection. Digital identities and footprints have become more critical in the modern world, and robust laws and regulations to secure such data and protect people are very necessary.”

“So that’s really the genesis of it. Any company collecting data about people, especially personally identifiable information known as PII, will have to implement tight security controls to ensure that the data is not compromised. If not, the organisation concerned is likely to be fined and may have to face other legal ramifications,” he asserted, on a recent edition of LMDtv.

Ratnayake is of the opinion that there will be a grace period for companies to adapt and improve their internal practices to fall in line with the new PDP Act, and that it is important that companies take steps to ensure compliance as soon as possible.

This will increase the maturity of the overall digital programme in the country and create more avenues to digitalise the economy. The protection of people’s personal information would provide greater comfort, encouragement and confidence to engage in frequent digital transactions.

Referring to top trends in the IT industry in Sri Lanka, he noted: “From a digital and IT perspective, there is a massive acceleration in digitalisation of our lives around the world –especially due to the pandemic there has been a digital eruption. Whether you think of banking, entertainment or retail shopping, there has been a surge in digitalised activities. This trend is here to stay and we absolutely need to adapt.”

For the IT industry, this act will provide many growth opportunities in terms of the development of innovative solutions and technologies. Many progressive companies have already begun to recruit talent from around the globe – with advanced mechanisation and platforms being available, people can work for any country, from anywhere in the world.

On the existing digital infrastructure of Sri Lanka and priorities in the context of progress, Ratnayake commented that “one of the fundamental requirements for the advancement of a digital economy is its connectivity with the rest of the world. I think our existing links through submarines and satellites are efficient and decent. In addition, we’ve a fairly good network within the country and experimenting with 5G high speed connectivity is in progress.”

As the country moves towards increasing its digital footprint, it is crucial to adopt best practices in managing cybersecurity and associated risks. In the past couple of years, in the Asian region alone, cybercrimes and cyberattacks have increased by 600 percent. This is a considerable increase in cyber risks, threats and attacks, and this digital vulnerability must be carefully managed.

“This is why having the right legal infrastructure is so important – whether it is data protection and privacy or cyber security, the legislation needs to be tight and robust. Enough attention must be given at the boardroom level to address cyber security as an operational risk,” he stressed.

A heavily digitalised organisation such as a bank or an enterprise engaged in e-commerce can have its business wiped out overnight unless adequate measures are in place to protect data systems.

In summing up, the Co-Founder and Chairman of Scybers remarked that rapidly upskilling the IT labour force is a critical challenge the country faces; and to develop local tech talent, campus and university programmes must make sure there is continuous review and improvement.

And he added that a focussed and aggressive plan is required, including looking to global talent pools to address any shortcomings in expertise.