London, UK — The United Kingdom warned its citizens on Friday about a major data breach in Somalia’s new e-visa system, a day after the United States issued a similar alert.
Both nations say they have “credible allegations” that a hack has exposed the personal data of at least 35,000 travellers.
The e-visa hack warning raises serious security fears. It also adds fresh pressure to a system already at the centre of a political airspace dispute between Mogadishu and Somaliland.
The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) updated its official travel advice on November 14. The new advice points directly to the U.S. Embassy alert issued on November 13.
According to the U.S. warning, hackers breached the e-visa system on or around November 11. The embassy provided an alarming list of potentially stolen information.
Details of the data breach
It stated that the leaked data included “visa applicants’ names, photos, dates and places of birth, email addresses, marital status, and home addresses.”
The U.S. government advised it “was unable to confirm whether an individual’s data is part of the breach.” However, it warned that any person who applied for a Somali e-visa “may be affected.” It directed its citizens to resources on data breaches from the Federal Trade Commission.
A group calling itself “Operation Birjeex 2025” has reportedly claimed responsibility. Regional media outlets said the group, named after a former Somaliland opposition movement, framed the hack as a political protest against Somalia’s federal government.
The Somali Immigration and Citizenship Agency runs the e-visa system. It has not yet issued a detailed public statement on the breach or on the steps it is taking to secure travellers’ data.
Abdullahi Mataan, a political analyst in Mogadishu, said the incident is a “huge embarrassment” for the federal government. He argued the government should have confirmed the system’s security before its launch.
“For the data to come out and a breach to happen, just two months after the e-visa was launched, is an embarrassing thing for the government,” he told Somalia Today. “It must provide an urgent answer and come up with an urgent solution that can be trusted.”
Mataan also suggested that someone inside the system may have leaked the data, rather than external hackers stealing it.
“When you look, the e-visa website etas.gov.so is still working, and there is no visible sign of a hack or takeover. It is possible someone stole the data from within the government,” he said. “Whatever the case, the government must give an urgent answer.”
Breach adds to tensions
The security crisis hits the e-visa system at a time when it was already facing a political challenge.
Somaliland, which operates as a de facto independent state, has rejected the federal system that was launched on September 1.
This dispute recently escalated, creating confusion for international airlines.
On October 31, the Somali Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) in Mogadishu ordered airlines to stop boarding passengers for Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, without a federal e-visa. It threatened “financial penalties” and “suspension of flight operations” for non-compliance.
In response, Somaliland’s Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports (MOCAAD) issued its own decree on November 2. It declared that as of November 10, all aircraft must obtain a separate “Overflight Permit” from Hargeisa to enter its airspace.
As a result, this standoff has put airlines like Flydubai in a difficult position, caught between two competing administrations.
Background to the conflict
This tension over borders and airspace is not a new phenomenon. After Somalia’s central government collapsed in 1991, the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) managed the country’s airspace from Nairobi for decades.
In 2018, the ICAO transferred control back to the federal government in Mogadishu. Somaliland, which had argued for a joint-management deal, fiercely opposed the move.
Somalia introduced the e-visa system to modernise its border controls. Now, however, it is at the heart of a dual crisis. The federal government faces growing pressure from abroad to secure its digital borders, even as it struggles to enforce its authority at home.