U.S Raises Red Flag After Somalia Visa Breach, Urges Caution Among Citizens

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: The U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu has issued a security alert advising American citizens to exercise caution following reports that hackers may have breached Somalia’s e-visa platform, potentially exposing sensitive personal data of visa applicants.

The Embassy said it could not confirm whether any individual American’s details were compromised but noted that the leaked files circulating online appear extensive enough that “individuals who have applied for a Somali e-visa may be affected.” The message is the strongest acknowledgement so far from a foreign mission since news of the breach surfaced earlier this week.

Local media in Somalia first reported on November 11 that unidentified hackers had penetrated the new e-visa system, accessing information belonging to at least 35,000 applicants. International outlets later amplified the story, citing cybersecurity trackers who described the exposed data as including names, passport-style photos, dates and places of birth, marital status, email contacts, and home addresses.

The attack comes only months after Somalia rolled out the digital visa platform — a move that sparked a political row with Somaliland, which rejected Mogadishu’s requirement that travellers to Hargeisa must apply through the federal system. That dispute had already placed the new platform under heightened scrutiny before the security concerns emerged this week.

The U.S. Embassy’s alert signals Washington’s growing concern over the potential scale of the compromise. Somalia has become a hub for diplomatic, humanitarian, and business travel in recent years. A significant number of those travellers — including aid workers, contractors, and government personnel — rely on the e-visa system, meaning American citizens are likely represented in the leaked database.

The Embassy urged U.S. nationals who recently applied for Somali visas to stay alert for guidance from the Somali Immigration and Citizenship Agency, which manages the platform. It also encouraged travellers to take standard digital-security precautions, such as monitoring personal email accounts and watching for unfamiliar login attempts or suspicious requests for personal information.

Somali authorities have not yet released a formal statement confirming the breach, though officials say the matter is under investigation. The incident has revived long-standing concerns about the resilience of government digital systems, which have expanded quickly but remain exposed to cyber threats.

While inquiries continue, the U.S. Embassy’s advisory underscores the broader security implications of weak digital infrastructure in a region where both state and non-state actors have shown interest in harvesting personal data.