UK Visa Portal spilled thousands of applicants’ passports and selfies online — and hasn’t fixed the leak

A website called UK Visa Portal is publically exposing the passports and selfie photos of applicants who signed up and paid the tract to get a U.K migration visa, TechCrunch has learned.

An anonymous idiosyncratic notified TechCrunch astir the information lapse, saying that the website is exposing astatine slightest 100,000 documents from radical who uploaded their passports and selfies to the website arsenic portion of the exertion process.

The website is not affiliated with the U.K. government, and some person complained that they mistakenly paid a interest to this institution alternatively of using the authoritative GOV.UK website.

TechCrunch confirmed that UK Visa Portal is the root of the information leak and verified the authenticity of the exposed information by contacting affected individuals to inquire if their accusation was accurate.

UK Visa Portal does not person a mode to study information issues done its website, nor does its website supply names oregon interaction accusation for the company’s management. TechCrunch sent an email to the code listed connected UK Visa Portal’s website to alert the institution that it has an ongoing information lapse and to inquire who successful absorption tin judge circumstantial details to resoluteness the issue. Given the sensitivity of the exposed data, TechCrunch explained that it could not stock specifics with the company’s wide lawsuit enactment inbox due to the fact that it could not warrant that the exposed information would not beryllium misused.

Instead, TechCrunch heard backmost from the company’s purported attorneys and nationalist relations firm. TechCrunch explained again that fixed the quality of the exposed files, it could lone stock details straight with the company’s management, and asked that they enactment TechCrunch successful interaction with them.

TechCrunch has not heard backmost from UK Visa Portal’s management. The information lapse has inactive not been fixed.

While the information contented is ongoing, TechCrunch believes it’s successful the nationalist involvement that radical who usage the company’s services are alert of the issue. TechCrunch is not publishing precise details successful an effort to minimize immoderate further hazard to their information.

It is not indispensable to usage a third-party work to use for a U.K. physics question authorization, unless you are retaining an migration attorney, and applicants should apply done the U.K. government’s website.