Hackers Manipulate the German Embassy Website and Sell Appointments for $5000

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A few years ago the German Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) introduced a new software for all its embassies and foreign missions. The new software was to create “order” in the Embassies such that all the applicants booked appointments before showing up at the Embassy and the Embassy officials could choose which kind of visas they wouldn’t be issuing for a while.

Well the new program has been around for the last couple of years with no problem until hackers found the code to get through to it. According to people who tried to use the system, all appointments on the Embassy website were fully booked for months.

Apparently, the hackers had “booked” all the appointments and were selling them in the black market. Appointments were going for $5000. The hackers in Syria had developped a program that booked all appointments as soon as they were publicised on the embassy website. Those that paid the $5000 simply got a paper written, “You’ve booked an appointment at the German Embassy”.

According to computer expats, the system the Embassies are currently using is very insecure and can easily be manipulated. According to „Welt am Sonntag“, the German Foreign Office is aware of the problem and its nothing new. These kind of manipulations on the German Embassy system have been on going but the Foreign Office is unable to do much because those involved are not German citizens.

Could this also be the case with the German Embassy in Nairobi? I’ve heard there are people who are selling au pair appointments at KSh. 100,000. Although the Embassy in Nairobi refuted these claims and even sent out a warning to au pairs who were using agents to book the appointments, it is still a bit confusing because some of these “agents” ALWAYS get au pair appointments for their clients whenever they get the cash. So who is fooling who?

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