Passports and selfies of 100,000 UK visa applicants leaked, issue remains unaddressed
UK Visa Portal, a third-party website that helps people obtain UK immigration visas, has suffered a major data breach.
The Learn Pass Succeed Tuition Centre in east London. Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty.
UK Visa Portal, a third-party website that helps people obtain UK immigration visas, has suffered a major data breach.
- UK Visa Portal, a third-party visa service, suffered a major breach exposing passports and selfies of at least 100,000 applicants – and the security flaw remains unfixed.
- When TechCrunch tried to report the security issue, UK Visa Portal responded with attorneys and a PR firm rather than addressing the vulnerability or thanking the outlet for disclosure.
- UK Visa Portal is not an official government service, and some Reddit users have complained about being overcharged for services available directly from the government for less.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
An anonymous source told TechCrunch about the breach. According to this person, at least 100,000 documents from people who submitted their passports and selfies for visa applications have been leaked online.
The online tech outlet confirmed that the UK Visa Portal is the source of the data breach and verified the authenticity of the data by contacting affected individuals.
TechCrunch tried to tell the company about the security issue, but the website didn’t provide names or contact information for the company’s management. That’s why the tech site decided to send an email that was mentioned on the company’s website.
Instead of expressing their gratitude for reporting the issue, the news outlet was contacted by UK Visa Porta’s attorneys and public relations firm.
As of writing, no response has been received from the company’s management. On top of that, the security issue hasn’t been fixed yet.
TechCrunch says that because of the sensitive nature of the exposed data and to minimize any further risk to affected people’s information, it won’t share any details about the data breach. However, the tech site felt it needed to inform people who have used the company’s services about the issue.
UK Visa Portal is a website that claims to help people who require an immigration visa for the United Kingdom. The company is not affiliated with the UK government. Some people have complained on Reddit that they have been overcharged for services.
To apply for a visa or electronic travel authorization (ETA), people should visit the official site.
FAQ
Is the UK Visa Portal a legit website?
The "UK Visa Portal" (ukvisaportal.com) is not the official UK government website. It's a third-party service that charges inflated fees for applications you can do yourself for much less on the official site. The only legitimate UK government visa and ETA applications are through gov.uk or the official UK ETA app, where fees are significantly lower.
Will the UK Visa Portal work in the US?
Yes, ukvisaportal.com will technically work from the US, but it's still a third-party service charging much higher fees than the official UK government website. You should instead use gov.uk (the official UK government site) or the official UK ETA app to apply directly. It works from anywhere including the US and costs significantly less.
How can I check my UK visa process?
To check your UK visa application status, you can use VFS Global's tracking service at visa.vfsglobal.com/track-application using your reference number from your receipt and last name. Alternatively, check processing times on the official gov.uk website, though note that UK visa applications don't have full real-time tracking available to applicants.
FAQ by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
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