Back in May, I broke the story on DaniWeb in this very blog of how the online application facility for UK visas was not only insecure, but that it had potentially been so for years. The company concerned, VFS Global, which operated the visa online application form filing service on behalf of the UK government in India and other countries, had such Mickey Mouse security in place that anyone could easily get hold of the full application form information of anyone who had made such an application. That's anyone as is terrorist, identity thief, innocent applicant stumbling across the information or even an investigative journalist. The story quickly gathered momentum, and featured as the lead on Channel 4 News in the UK after I brought it to their attention and aided with the investigation.
Today, the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has found the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in breach of the Data Protection Act following an investigation into that application facility security fiasco.