UK Visa Portal exposes passport and selfie photos of applicants

A website called UK Visa Portal is publicly exposing the passports and selfie photos of applicants who paid the site to obtain a U.K. immigration visa, based on information published by TechCrunch.

An anonymous source alerted TechCrunch to a security lapse on the UK Visa Portal website, stating that at least 100,000 documents, including passports and selfies, are exposed. This website is not affiliated with the U.K. government, and some users have mistakenly paid fees to this third-party service instead of using the official GOV.UK website. TechCrunch confirmed the data leak and verified the authenticity of the exposed information. The website lacks a clear process for reporting security issues or contacting management.

TechCrunch attempted to notify the company through its listed email address and its purported legal and public relations representatives, but has not received a response from management, and the security lapse remains unfixed. The U.K. government advises applicants to use its official website for electronic travel authorization applications, as third-party services are generally unnecessary unless retaining an immigration attorney.

Source: TechCrunch