Somalia’s immigration authority has officially confirmed that its electronic visa (e-visa) system was breached by hackers, resulting in the exposure of sensitive personal data from thousands of travellers.
The breach, which affected more than 35,000 visa applicants, reportedly included names, photographs, dates and places of birth, email addresses and other identifying information.
Warnings were issued in advance by the United States Embassy and the United Kingdom Foreign Office, advising potential visitors that the data breach remains unresolved and that the e-visa portal’s security status is uncertain.
In response, the Immigration and Citizenship Agency of Somalia has demanded an investigation into the incident, stating it will assess the origin of the attempted breach, the full extent of the impact, and has committed to inform those affected directly.
The portal has since been moved to a new domain by the Somali government, though it has not provided full transparency regarding how long the system had been compromised or who is responsible.
Leave a Comment