Security News > 2007 > June > US Embassy probes hacking of online visa appointment system
http://www.rjr94fm.com/news/story.php?category=2&story=36819 June 13, 2007 RJR News has been informed that the United States Embassy has launched an intensive probe into what is reported to be the recent hacking of its online non-immigrant visa appointment system. While the extent of the breach is unclear, it is understood that unknown persons managed to access the on-line immigrant visa appointment system and tampered with the names and appointment dates of visa applicants. A small group of student athletes who were scheduled to attend the Reebok Classic earlier this month were unable to do so reportedly due to the problem. Our source says track officials had applied for appointments ahead of schedule however they were unable to obtain dates, even up to the day of the track meet. Some of the athletes never made the trip. The US Embassy in a statement Wednesday afternoon confirmed that it had launched an investigation into the attempted manipulation of its online non-immigrant visa appointment system. The Embassy warned members of the public to avoid dealing with persons offering to procure early visa appointments. According to the Embassy a growing number of appointments made on the agency's online system contain fictitious information and have been made simply to hold a place in the interview schedule. Embassy officials says fictitious appointments pose problems for everyone, and added to the waiting time for legitimate travelers from Jamaica to secure a timely appointment. The Embassy says persons found to be tampering with the appointment data base and/or filing fraudulent appointments will be reported to the Jamaican authorities for possible criminal prosecution. _____________________________________________________ Attend Black Hat USA, July 28-August 2 in Las Vegas, the world's premier technical event for ICT security experts. Featuring 30 hands-on training courses and 90 Briefings presentations with lots of new content and new tools. Network with 4,000 delegates from 70 nations. Visit product displays by 30 top sponsors in a relaxed setting. Rates increase on June 1 so register today. http://www.blackhat.com
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