Government Residence
A significant security compromise in the Federal Republic of Somalia's digital visa application system may have exposed sensitive details pertaining to many thousands of applicants, involving US citizens, the United States diplomatic mission in Mogadishu has warned.
It said gathered reliable information that "unidentified hackers" had penetrated the Mogadishu administration's digital visa application portal, likely endangering details concerning approximately 35,000 applicants.
The exposed records distributed through digital channels comprise names, images, date of birth information, marriage information, home addresses and email information, according to a American diplomatic communication released on Thursday.
"This data breach is ongoing and might reveal all private information provided to the system," the UK has similarly alerted visitors.
"Consider the risks prior to requesting a digital visa required for entry into the Federal Republic."
Government Response
Federal administration representatives have not issued statements regarding the incident. But the government has moved visa processing away from evisa.gov.so to the new system etas.gov.so, without issuing a public clarification.
"Although the US Embassy in Mogadishu is unable to confirm if personal information is part of the breach, travelers who have requested visas for a Somali e-visa might be compromised," the official communication stated.
Regional Implications
The revised application procedure requires each person traveling, comprising individuals from the independently governed area of the breakaway region and the semi-autonomous region of the northeastern region, to request travel visas online.
Critics say travellers have faced additional charges in specific areas, equivalent to repeated fees.
Political Context
The northern territory, which declared independence in the early nineties, manages its territory via separate governmental bodies but has not been internationally recognised. Somalia maintains that the region remains part of its jurisdictional area.
The alleged breach exacerbates ongoing disputes involving Mogadishu and northern authorities concerning jurisdiction of national air territory. Although federal authorities re-established complete authority of national aviation space in recent years, Hargeisa administration continues to contest the arrangement.
Ongoing Conflict
The disagreement worsened this week after the northern region's leader Abdirahman Irro said the northern territory would reject Somalia's e-visa and directed that carriers must obtain authorization from Hargeisa before entering its airspace.
Nevertheless prominent aviation companies have refused to board passengers absent federal visa authorization.
In the latest development, Hargeisa's international relations official Abdirahman Dahir Aadan reaffirmed that "anyone travelling to Somaliland can acquire their visa upon landing", stating Somalia's e-visa system lacked security and alerting that "people's data might be obtained by extremist organizations" due to using it.
Travel Disruptions
The impasse has caused certain visitors heading to Somaliland stuck in transit hubs after being denied boarding because they didn't have Mogadishu's digital permit.
Somaliland's Civil Aviation Minister, Fu'aad Ahmed Nuux, has stated to media outlets that the instructions - first announced earlier this year - were implemented on 10 November.
He said carriers that refuse might be directed to divert, and stated several aircraft had already been rerouted.
Aviation Authority Dispute
Footage published by the northern region's air transport department reportedly displays regional aviation officials issuing instructions to foreign aircraft commanders - a development hailed internally as an assertion of Somaliland's autonomy.
Nevertheless the federal aviation regulator insists it maintains exclusive regulatory authority concerning the national airspace information zone (FIR), which covers all territorial skies. Officials have directed every plane to disregard any instructions provided by entities except Mogadishu.
Officials cautioned that not adhering to Somali and international aviation rules could create safety risks and result in "serious legal consequences".
