Sri Lankan Student Hacks President's Website to Delay Exam That's one way to get out of a test.

By Don Reisinger

This story originally appeared on PCMag

Shutterstock

There are the usual ways to get out of a test, and then there are the interesting ways to skip a test. One teenager from Sri Lanka allegedly chose the latter.

A 17-year-old Sri Lankan is being detained on charges of hacking the website of President Maithripala Sirisena, according to the BBC. After taking over the site on Thursday and Friday, a group called the Sri Lanka Youth requested that national exams, scheduled for April, be rescheduled so as not to conflict with the Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebrations, the report says.

News of teenagers doing dumb things isn't all that Earth-shattering, but the teen took things up a notch. He, or whoever carried out the attack, added a message on the president's site read that urged him to "take care of the security of Sri Lankan websites" or face the possibility of "a cyber war."

According to the BBC, the unidentified teen was detained until law enforcement could determine the extent to which the threats were real. It's unknown whether he was actually behind the hack or if he worked alone.

President Sirisena's site was first hacked last Thursday with the aforementioned message, but was soon reclaimed after officials realized it was breached. The group again hacked the site on Friday, but didn't display a message. As of this writing, the president's site is back up and running.

Don Reisinger

Contributing Writer

Don Reisinger has been a contributing writer for Fortune since 2015.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Science & Technology

39% of Your Skills Will be Obsolete in 5 Years — Here Are 6 Skills You Will Need to Adapt and Thrive

AI agents are transforming business — adapt or be left behind.

Side Hustle

'Over $100,000 a Month': His Spicy Side Hustle Became a Full-Time Business and Hit 7-Figure Revenue — Here's How He Did It

Brock Giles, 36, started a business inspired by his childhood filled with "food, cooking and entertaining."

Leadership

7 Telltale Signs of a Weak Leader

Whether a bully or a people pleaser who can't tell hard truths, poor leadership takes many forms.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.