🔗 Share this article American and British Alert of Major Electronic Visa Information Leak in Federal Republic of Somalia Somali Presidential Palace At least 35,000 applicants might be affected, alerts the US embassy A significant data breach in the Federal Republic of Somalia's digital visa application system may have exposed private data belonging to tens of thousands of travelers, involving American nationals, the United States diplomatic mission in the Somali nation has warned. The embassy reported gathered reliable information that "unidentified hackers" breached the Mogadishu administration's e-visa platform, possibly exposing details concerning approximately 35,000 people. The compromised files distributed through digital channels include names, photographs, birth dates, relationship status, residential locations and email information, per a United States official announcement issued on Thursday. "This information compromise is ongoing and might reveal all private information submitted to the application portal," United Kingdom officials has similarly alerted travellers. "Evaluate the dangers when considering application for an e-visa required for entry into the Federal Republic." Government Response Somali authorities have not commented regarding the incident. Nevertheless the government has moved visa processing from the initial application portal to the new system the updated platform, without issuing a formal statement. "Even though American diplomatic mission in Somalia lacks the capacity to validate whether an individual's data belongs to the breach, individuals who have applied through the electronic visa system could be impacted," the US' statement said. Regional Implications The updated visa process mandates every visitor, including those from the independently governed area of the breakaway region and the self-governing territory of Puntland, to apply for travel visas via electronic platforms. Commentators state applicants have experienced extra fees in particular territories, totaling repeated fees. Political Context The self-declared republic, which declared independence in the early nineties, manages its territory through independent structures but has not been worldwide acceptance. The Federal Government maintains that this territory remains part of its sovereign territory. The claimed security incident adds to persistent conflicts involving Mogadishu and Hargeisa concerning jurisdiction of national air territory. Although federal authorities regained complete authority of territorial skies in the past decade, northern authorities continues to contest the arrangement. Recent Escalation The disagreement intensified recently as the northern region's leader the regional leader stated Somaliland would not accept Somalia's e-visa and ordered that airlines need to acquire permission from northern authorities prior to accessing their territorial skies. Yet leading carriers have chosen not to accept travelers lacking Somalia's e-visa approval. Recently, the northern region's top diplomat Abdirahman Dahir Aadan reaffirmed that "every person entering the breakaway region can acquire travel authorization on arrival", stating Mogadishu's digital application process was not safe and alerting that "people's data could be accessed by radical elements" because of utilizing the system. Aviation Challenges The conflict has resulted in certain visitors traveling to Somaliland stuck in transit hubs following refusal of entry because they didn't have the federal electronic visa. Somaliland's Civil Aviation Minister, the aviation minister, has told news organizations that the regulations - first announced previously - came into effect on 10 November. The minister stated airlines that do not comply would be instructed to change course, and asserted numerous flights were previously redirected. Aviation Authority Dispute Footage distributed by the northern region's air transport department reportedly displays regional aviation officials providing guidance to international pilots - an action hailed internally as an assertion of Somaliland's autonomy. Nevertheless the Somalia Civil Aviation Authority insists it retains complete jurisdictional power concerning the federal aviation control area (Flight Information Region), that includes the whole nation's airspace. Authorities have instructed all aircraft to pay no attention to all directives provided by entities except federal authorities. Authorities alerted that ignoring Somali and international aviation rules could create aviation dangers and cause "significant legal repercussions".