Somalia confirms major data breach in electronic visa system

Officials motorboat probe days aft breach emerged amid wide interest and speculation implicit leaked data.

Somalia’s Immigration and Citizenship Agency has confirmed that hackers breached its physics visa platform, exposing delicate idiosyncratic information of travellers who utilized the system.

The admittance connected Sunday marks the archetypal authoritative acknowledgement by Somali authorities aft the United States and United Kingdom issued warnings earlier successful the week.

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At slightest 35,000 people, including thousands of American citizens, whitethorn person had their information compromised erstwhile “unidentified hackers” penetrated the system, according to a US Embassy connection issued connected November 13.

Somalia’s Defence Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi had praised the physics visa strategy this week, claiming it had successfully prevented ISIL (ISIS) fighters from entering the country, arsenic a months-long battle continued successful the bluish regions against a section affiliate of the group.

The leak came to wider attraction past week aft clusters of accounts connected the societal media level X began circulating what they claimed was idiosyncratic accusation from affected individuals.

The breach has formed a spotlight connected the vulnerabilities of a integer strategy that Somalia’s authorities had promoted arsenic indispensable for improving nationalist security.

The migration bureau said it was treating the contented with “special importance” and announced it has launched an probe into the issue.

The bureau said it was investigating “the grade of the attempted breach, its origin, and immoderate imaginable impact”, adding that a study would beryllium published and those affected would beryllium informed directly.

However, the connection did not bespeak however galore radical were affected, nor did it springiness immoderate consciousness of however agelong the process mightiness take.

The authorities has since softly moved its e-visa strategy to a caller website.

The UK embassy warned travellers connected November 14 that “this information breach is ongoing and could exposure immoderate idiosyncratic information you participate into the system,” advising radical to “consider the risks earlier applying for an e-visa”.

Mohamed Ibrahim, a erstwhile Somali telecommunications curate and tech expert, told Al Jazeera that portion hacking is simply a important challenge, the authorities’ deficiency of transparency is troubling.

“Somalia isn’t high-tech, and hacking, successful itself, is neither present nor there. But they should person been upfront with the public,” Ibrahim said.

“Why was the website’s URL changed, for example? That hasn’t adjacent been explained,” helium added, referring to the domain sanction alteration for the e-visa exertion site.

On Saturday, the Somali migration agency’s director-general dismissed media reports astir the breach arsenic “coordinated misinformation campaigns” intended to undermine authorities institutions.

“A Somali idiosyncratic cannot undermine the dignity, authority, honour oregon unity of the state,” Mustafa Sheikh Ali Duhulow told an assemblage successful Mogadishu connected Saturday night, without straight addressing the hacking allegations.

The breach has sparked fury among officials successful Somaliland, the breakaway portion that declared independency from Somalia successful 1991, who person mostly resisted attempts by Mogadishu to enforce power implicit the territory.

Mohamed Hagi, an advisor to Somaliland’s president, called Mogadishu’s medication “institutionally irresponsible” for keeping the visa portal progressive contempt the breach.

The incidental came amid escalating tensions betwixt Somalia and Somaliland implicit airspace control.

Somalia’s authorities has been moving to tighten power of its nationalist airspace and centralise visa procedures, contempt authorization successful the state being fragmented among autonomous determination states.

Just 1 time earlier the breach emerged, Somaliland declared that “entry visas issued by the Federal Government of Somalia carnivore nary ineligible validity” wrong its territory.