A website called the UK Visa Portal is publicly displaying passports and selfies of applicants who sign up and pay for a UK immigration visa to the site, TechCrunch has learned.
An anonymous person alerted TechCrunch to the security issue, saying the website was exposing at least 100,000 documents from people who uploaded their passports and selfies to the website as part of the application process.
The website is not affiliated with the UK government, and some have complained that they mistakenly paid fees to this company instead of using the official GOV.UK website.
TechCrunch confirmed that the UK Visa Portal was the source of the data breach and confirmed the authenticity of the exposed data by contacting affected individuals to ask if the information was accurate.
The UK Visa portal has no way to report security issues through its website, and the website does not provide the names or contact information of company executives. TechCrunch sent an email to the address listed on the UK Visa Portal website, informing the company that it was experiencing ongoing security issues and asking if any of its executives would be willing to provide specific details to help resolve the issue. Given the sensitivity of the exposed data, TechCrunch explained that it could not share specifics with the company’s general customer support inbox because it could not guarantee that the exposed data would not be misused.
Instead, TechCrunch heard back from the company’s lawyers and public relations firm. TechCrunch again explained that due to the nature of the exposed files, it could only share details directly with company executives and asked them to contact TechCrunch.
TechCrunch has not heard back from UK Visa Portal management. Security issues have not yet been resolved.
While the security issue is ongoing, TechCrunch believes it is in the public interest that people who use our services are aware of this issue. TechCrunch does not publish exact details to minimize further risks to your information.
There is no need to use a third-party service to apply for a UK electronic travel authorization unless you hire an immigration lawyer, and applicants must apply through the UK government website.
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