Afghan Rulers Employed Left-Behind UK Equipment to Track Down Local Nationals That Served Alongside Allied Forces, Inquiry Is Told
A whistleblower has disclosed an official investigation that the UK abandoned confidential devices permitting the militant group to identify local individuals who worked with western forces.
Data Breach Endangers Numerous in Danger
The whistleblower, known as Person A, stated that individuals impacted by the security lapse were advised to change residences and switch their phone numbers to ensure their safety from militant forces.
MPs are currently examining official management of a massive leak of personal details affecting nearly 19,000 individuals who had requested to come to the UK to avoid the regime.
How the Leak Was Discovered
An electronic document including their personal data, comprising identities, contact details and sometimes family information, was mistakenly released by a staff member stationed at British military command in February 2022.
The breach was discovered in late 2023, when the names of nine people who had requested to move to the UK surfaced on Facebook.
Militant Technology
“There seems to be a false assumption that the Taliban do not have comparable resources that we have,” she told MPs.
“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Once they acquire a contact number, they can locate your exact position. That is what the unit achieved.”
During testimony about if militant forces possessed necessary encryption, the whistleblower declared: “They have complete capability.”
Impact of the Information Leak
Preliminary research submitted to the committee estimated that approximately fifty family members and associates of individuals impacted by the breach had been killed.
A legal restriction concerning the incident was implemented in late 2023 and restricted any information regarding the matter from media reporting until July 2025.
Safety Measures
Because she was restricted, Person A and the volunteer organization associated with informed individuals at risk they were supporting that they had “suspicions that somebody's phone had been breached”.
“We recommended that they change residence when possible and switched their mobile numbers. Those were the primary information that, if the Taliban acquired these details, would lead to identification and capture,” the source testified.
Disputed Conclusions
Person A argued that an official review performed by a former official had been mistaken to conclude that the obtaining of the records by the regime was “unlikely to substantially change present danger”.
“The crucial point is that these individuals are not confronting the Taliban; they remain concealed. All concerns relate to former occupations.”
She detailed disturbing violence suffered by concerned people, comprising electric shock torture, waterboarding, and violent assaults.
“Instances include four-year-old children who have had their arms broken to force households to reveal locations,” Person A stated.
