Bhathiya Barukanda
Monday, October 28, 2024 – American Center, Colombo: Good afternoon, everyone. It’s wonderful to be here with such a talented and passionate group of media professionals and youth, and our friends from Internews, Digital Turtles, and WhimsicalWits. You’re always welcome at our American Center, and I’m thrilled you could join us today.
We’re here to celebrate an exciting milestone—the global launch of Cyber Hero, a mobile app and educational tool, proudly developed in Sri Lanka. Cyber Hero is a free educational tool designed to teach digital safety, equipping students, young professionals, and digital communities with the skills to recognize online threats, protect privacy, and navigate the digital world securely, as part of our US-Sri Lanka partnership to raise cybersecurity awareness.
Cyber Hero is much more than just a mobile game. It is a key component of our Protecting Online Rights of Changemakers (PORCH) project, implemented by Internews, which focuses on enhancing digital literacy and empowering individuals to protect their digital rights.
I’d like to take a moment to highlight the incredible development team behind this app—WhimsicalWits, a female-led team of developers based, right here, in Sri Lanka. Their talent, creativity, and vision have brought Cyber Hero to life, making this launch a proud moment for both the U.S.-Sri Lanka partnership and for women in tech. WhimsicalWits exemplifies the power of female leadership in the technology sector, breaking barriers and setting an inspiring example for the next generation of women developers.
What makes Cyber Hero particularly special is its adaptability. The app is designed as an open-source platform allowing for localization into multiple languages, first in English, and soon in Sinhala, Tamil and, other languages — ensuring it can reach a wide and diverse audience across Sri Lanka and beyond. This flexibility allows it to serve not just as a game, but as a free educational tool for classrooms, parents, and communities.
Cybercriminals, as we all know, are out there, lurking in the corners of the digital world. And young people are particularly vulnerable to their tactics. Cybersecurity is a lot like locking the doors to your home. It starts with simple actions, like using strong passwords and staying cautious online, which are like securing each lock. But it doesn’t stop there—it’s also about protecting larger systems like power plants and hospitals, the critical infrastructure we all rely on. Hackers are always looking for weak spots, whether it’s in your phone or in a city’s power grid. They can break in and hide, waiting for the right moment to strike. This is why it’s crucial, especially for young people, to secure their “digital house” by using strong passwords, staying alert, and avoiding risky online behavior. We all have a role to play in keeping ourselves and our communities safe from evolving cyber threats.
The launch of Cyber Hero comes at a particularly relevant time—during Cybersecurity Awareness Month, when global attention is focused on promoting safer online behavior.
Cybersecurity isn’t just for big companies—it’s personal and local. It affects schools, businesses, and homes right in our communities. In fact, it’s as close as the device you’re using right now! We’ve all heard stories of cybercriminals creating fake profiles, pretending to be friends with teenagers on social media. Once they gained trust, they asked for personal details or money, exploiting young users who didn’t realize they were being scammed.
These real-life examples show why it’s so important for kids, parents, and the media to understand the range of cyber threats out there—and why staying vigilant online is crucial.
With Cyber Hero, we’re giving young people a free tool that will help them avoid falling into traps like these and teach their family, friends and communities to avoid similar the same. By immersing players in real-world online safety scenarios, the app teaches youth how to recognize and respond to threats such as phishing, malware, and privacy breaches. This knowledge is crucial in today’s world, where cybercriminals use increasingly sophisticated methods to exploit unsuspecting individuals. Early awareness of these dangers is the first step in combating them, and Cyber Hero equips young people with the tools they need to stay safe online.
We are thrilled to see how Cyber Hero—developed by the talented young team at WhimsicalWits—will contribute to a smarter, safer digital world. By offering this tool for free, we are not only providing immediate education but also fostering a culture of digital responsibility and safety that will benefit individuals, families, and communities for years to come.
I’m also proud to see the innovation and potential of Sri Lanka’s young people, gamers, and digital experts. Sri Lankans themselves can lead the way to develop apps like this for the world. It’s not just limited to Silicon Valley developing such ideas.
Thank you all for being part of this journey, and I look forward to seeing how Cyber Hero helps shape a safer, more informed digital future for Sri Lanka and beyond.
Thank you.
