The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) suspected that the place in queue feature of the Kamu chatbot in the agency’s online services has been used for purposes other than tracking applicants’ or employees’ applications, said Migri in a press release on Wednesday.
The personal data of customers, however, has not been compromised.
Kamu is the Finnish Immigration Service’s chatbot, which is available in Finnish and English on the Finnish Immigration Service’s website and the Enter Finland online service.
Kamu’s place in queue feature is intended for customers and employers so that they can check the status of their own or their employee’s applications in the processing queue. The place in queue feature has been unavailable since 17 May.
The processing of the permits of the Migri’s customers has been tracked extensively using the Kamu place in queue feature.
The Migri is investigating into the matter in cooperation with other authorities.
Each application or other matter submitted to the Finnish Immigration Service is given a unique diary number. The diary number is the identifier used for the matter throughout its processing. For example, if one customer has two pending applications, both applications have their own diary numbers.
The diary number does not contain personal data on the customers of the Migri. The diary number may also not be misused. The Kamu chatbot is not technically connected to the processing of matters by the Migri. Instead, its responses are based on statistical data.
“This situation does not require our customers to take any action, and you do not have to worry about your personal data. The problems in the place in queue feature also have no effect on the processing of applications,” said Harriet Mallenius, Director of Customer Experience of Migri.
The Migri is working to enable the safe tracking of the place in queue feature as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, customers are informed of the progress of their application process as normal by automatic messages and the Enter Finland online service.
Customers can also assess the duration of the processing of their application with the Processing Time Checker on Migri.fi.
“This is a regrettable situation, as the place in queue feature in Kamu has been a popular way to track the processing of applications. However, we prioritise our customers’ safety and Kamu can still answer our customers’ frequently asked questions. We are currently developing compensatory methods that will enable customers to assess the completion of their permit decision,” said Mallenius.
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi