US visa system vulnerable to attack: report

Security experts have discovered vulnerabilities in the system used by the US State Department to store personal information from US passports and visas that could expose the sensitive records to theft or illegal modification.

The USA's ABC News has reported, citing political sources, that the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD) has been found to be at risk of being compromised.

The CCD is used as the core system for vetting travellers to and from the US. It stores the personal and biometric details of nearly everybody who has applied for a US passport or visa in the past 20 years, including fingerprints, photographs and social security numbers.

Such information could potentially be extremely valuable to cyberthieves, and the potential ability for attackers to insert or modify documents presents a host of national security concerns.

According to the report, terrorist groups like ISIS have previously expressed a desire to exploit the US visa system.

But a spokesperson for the State Department said the agency is working continuously to detect and close any possible vulnerability.

Several sources referenced in the report also expressed scepticism that cybercriminals or terrorists would even have the capability to exploit the vulnerabilities. There is no evidence that the system has been compromised.

Image courtesy of Tom Hughes-Croucher under CC