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Government Residence

A major data breach in Somalia's e-visa platform may have exposed private data associated with tens of thousands of applicants, comprising US citizens, the US embassy in Somalia has warned.

It said obtained credible reports that "unknown cyber attackers" had penetrated the Somali government's digital visa application portal, possibly exposing data from at least 35,000 individuals.

The compromised files circulating online comprise personal identifiers, images, dates of birth, relationship status, home addresses and email contacts, according to a American diplomatic communication published on Thursday.

"This security incident continues to occur and potentially disclose any sensitive details submitted to the system," the UK has similarly alerted visitors.

"Assess the potential threats prior to requesting a digital visa mandatory for visiting Somalia."

Government Response

Government officials have not commented regarding the incident. But authorities has moved its visa service away from the original e-visa website to etas.gov.so, without providing a formal statement.

"Although the US Embassy in Mogadishu lacks the capacity to validate whether an individual's data belongs to the security incident, individuals who have applied for a Somali e-visa may be affected," the American announcement declared.

Regional Implications

The revised application procedure requires each person traveling, comprising individuals from the self-declared republic of the northern territory and the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, to apply for admission permits through digital means.

Critics say travellers have faced additional charges in specific areas, equivalent to double charges.

Geopolitical Background

Somaliland, that announced sovereignty in 1991, administers its affairs through independent structures yet hasn't received internationally recognised. The Federal Government insists that the area remains part of its jurisdictional area.

The claimed security incident adds to persistent conflicts involving Somali federal authorities and Hargeisa regarding authority over aviation space. Although Somalia regained complete authority of territorial skies in the past decade, Hargeisa administration regularly disputes this agreement.

Recent Escalation

The conflict worsened this week when Hargeisa's chief executive Abdirahman Irro announced Somaliland would refuse Mogadishu's electronic visa and ordered that airlines are required to secure permission from Somaliland officials before entering the region's aviation space.

Nevertheless prominent aviation companies have declined to process individuals lacking Somalia's e-visa approval.

On Saturday, Hargeisa's international relations official the foreign minister reiterated that "all visitors to Somaliland can acquire travel authorization upon landing", declaring Somalia's e-visa system was not safe and alerting that "individual details could be accessed by extremist organizations" as a result of using it.

Passenger Complications

The stand-off has resulted in certain visitors traveling to the northern region stranded at airports following refusal of entry due to absence of the federal electronic visa.

Hargeisa's air transport representative, the aviation minister, has informed media outlets that the directives - originally publicized previously - came into effect on 10 November.

Officials declared companies that ignore might be directed to divert, and claimed multiple planes were previously redirected.

Airspace Control Conflict

Footage released by Hargeisa's civil aviation authority seems to demonstrate territorial flight directors issuing instructions to international pilots - a development applauded locally as an assertion of Somaliland's autonomy.

However the federal aviation regulator maintains it possesses exclusive regulatory authority concerning the national airspace information zone (aviation control zone), which covers the entire country's aviation space. It has ordered each flight to disregard any guidance coming from sources besides federal authorities.

Authorities alerted that not adhering to federal and global flight regulations could pose safety risks and lead to "significant legal repercussions".