UK Visa Portal exposes 100,000 passport documents online
Original: UK Visa Portal spilled thousands of applicants’ passports and selfies online — and hasn’t fixed the leak
Why This Matters
Major data breach exposes sensitive immigration documents, highlighting third-party service risks
A third-party UK visa service website has leaked approximately 100,000 passport photos and selfies from applicants online. The company, unaffiliated with the UK government, has not fixed the security breach despite being notified by TechCrunch.
UK Visa Portal, a private company offering UK visa application services, is exposing sensitive documents from users who mistakenly used their service instead of the official GOV.UK website. TechCrunch verified the breach affects at least 100,000 documents including passports and selfie photos. The company lacks clear security reporting channels and management contact information. When TechCrunch attempted to report the issue, they received responses from attorneys and PR representatives but never reached company management directly. The security vulnerability remains unfixed. The company charges fees for services that can be completed directly through official government channels.