Somalia government probes digital visa platform data breach

Authorities in Somalia are looking into a data leak incident that rocked the country’s new digital visa platform which went operational in September.

Information about the breach first surfaced on social media, with claims that the attack led to personal data leaks.

Authorities earlier rejected the allegations, but later in a statement, the Somalia Immigration and Citizenship Agency (HSJ) confirmed the incident saying that it had “detected an illegal breach” targeting part of the data belonging to passengers traveling to Somalia through the Electronic Travel Authorization System (e-TAS).

The agency noted that immediately after the issue was discovered, it took urgent action to halt and investigate the incident in order to minimize any potential impact.

“The Government of Somalia has given this matter utmost priority and has appointed a national task force composed of security institutions, international forensic experts, and relevant governmental data protection bodies. The committee is investigating the scale of the attempted breach, its origin, and its possible effects,” it said.

“Once the official investigation is completed, a detailed report will be released outlining the findings, the verified information, and the corrective measures taken. During the investigation period, all individuals who may have been affected will be notified directly. Only official communication channels of the Federal Government of Somalia will be used,” the agency assured.

Given the risk of misinformation on the matter and its potential harm, the agency cautioned the public and international travelers to obtain information exclusively from it to avoid misguidance.

The agency added that it regrets the incident and reiterated its commitment to protecting citizens’ data and national services.

“The agency is strengthening its digital security systems, including modern data protection standards and multi-factor authentication across all HSJ services,” it assured.

The United States and the United Kingdom had warned of the data breach, Aljazeera reported, citing embassy statements which warned nationals of the potential risks of using the system at the time.

Somalia’s digital visa platform is part of the country’s broader efforts to put in place a secure border management system. This includes the implementation of an initiative, PISCES, backed by the United States government.

The country is also on a digital transformation journey underpinned by a World Bank-supported national digital ID program which aims to get at least 15 million people registered for it by 2029.

Article Topics

cybersecurity  |  data privacy  |  data protection  |  digital travel  |  electronic visa  |  Somalia  |  visas