05-19-2007, 12:57 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Data [may have] stolen from UK visa service </b>
Nandini Jawli | LondonÂ
Britain suspends online applications
Indian online visa applications to the British High Commission have been suspended due to a serious security lapse. The matter would be investigated at the higher levels in the UK.
The Internet visa applications had some serious security lapse, which made personal details of 50,000 Indian applicants freely available online. There are concerns in the UK that this might have led to identity thefts and misuse by terrorists.
Britain's Channel 4 has reported that the lapse made personal details of thousands of people wanting to travel to the UK, unsecured and available to anyone online. Four hundred and seventy thousand Indians applied for visas to come to Britain last year. Around 50,000 had applied online.
The Channel reports that one of the applicants, Sanjib Mitra from Bangalore, noticed the lapse in April last year. Visa processing in India has been contracted out by the Foreign Office to a private Indian company, VFS Global. Sanjib Mitra alerted the company as well as the British High Commission in India.
After the revelations,<b> Britain has suspended its online visa applications not only in India but also in Russia and Nigeria. The services were provided by the same company VFS. Britain's Foreign Office had in February awarded VFS a five year contract worth £190 million for visa processing.</b>
Due to concerns that the data privacy may have been compromised, the Information Commissioner is to investigate the whole matter. The Information Commissioner's Office is an independent authority set up to promote access to official information and to protect personal information.
There is a looming suspicion that personal data may have been stolen. The security flaw continued for about a year. Home addresses, dates of birth and passport numbers were all said to be accessible for more than a year. The online system has been running since 2003.
<b>Britain's opposition Conservative Party has called it an 'Indian visa fiasco' and have expressed concerns that this security breach was open to being exploited by terrorists. </b>
The shadow immigration minister, Damian Green, said, "This may have been a treasure trove for international terrorists."
The Information Commissioner, the Government's data privacy watchdog, has demanded a 'full explanation' from the Foreign Office.
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Nandini Jawli | LondonÂ
Britain suspends online applications
Indian online visa applications to the British High Commission have been suspended due to a serious security lapse. The matter would be investigated at the higher levels in the UK.
The Internet visa applications had some serious security lapse, which made personal details of 50,000 Indian applicants freely available online. There are concerns in the UK that this might have led to identity thefts and misuse by terrorists.
Britain's Channel 4 has reported that the lapse made personal details of thousands of people wanting to travel to the UK, unsecured and available to anyone online. Four hundred and seventy thousand Indians applied for visas to come to Britain last year. Around 50,000 had applied online.
The Channel reports that one of the applicants, Sanjib Mitra from Bangalore, noticed the lapse in April last year. Visa processing in India has been contracted out by the Foreign Office to a private Indian company, VFS Global. Sanjib Mitra alerted the company as well as the British High Commission in India.
After the revelations,<b> Britain has suspended its online visa applications not only in India but also in Russia and Nigeria. The services were provided by the same company VFS. Britain's Foreign Office had in February awarded VFS a five year contract worth £190 million for visa processing.</b>
Due to concerns that the data privacy may have been compromised, the Information Commissioner is to investigate the whole matter. The Information Commissioner's Office is an independent authority set up to promote access to official information and to protect personal information.
There is a looming suspicion that personal data may have been stolen. The security flaw continued for about a year. Home addresses, dates of birth and passport numbers were all said to be accessible for more than a year. The online system has been running since 2003.
<b>Britain's opposition Conservative Party has called it an 'Indian visa fiasco' and have expressed concerns that this security breach was open to being exploited by terrorists. </b>
The shadow immigration minister, Damian Green, said, "This may have been a treasure trove for international terrorists."
The Information Commissioner, the Government's data privacy watchdog, has demanded a 'full explanation' from the Foreign Office.
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