🔗 Share this article

A whistleblower has disclosed a parliamentary probe that British authorities left behind sensitive equipment permitting the Taliban to identify Afghans that had served with western forces.

Data Breach Endangers Thousands at Risk

The source, called Person A, stated that people concerned by the information breach were advised to change residences and change their mobile numbers to avoid detection from militant forces.

Lawmakers are looking into the UK government's handling of a massive breach of private information affecting nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied to come to Britain to avoid the Taliban.

How the Leak Occurred

A spreadsheet including private information, comprising identities, contact details and sometimes relative details, was mistakenly released by a worker working at special operations center in February 2022.

The incident became known in late 2023, when identities of multiple applicants who had applied to settle in Britain appeared on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

It appears there is this misconception that the Taliban lack the same sort of facilities that western nations possess,” she told MPs.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; they possess it. Should they obtain mobile details, they can trace your precise location. That is what the unit did.”

Under inquiry about whether the Taliban owned advanced decryption, the source confirmed: “They've got everything.”

Impact of the Information Leak

Early investigations presented to the committee estimated that approximately fifty family members and colleagues of Afghans affected by the leak had been killed.

A legal restriction concerning the leak was implemented in August 2023 and blocked all details about it from being made public until mid-2025.

Protective Actions

Given injunction limitations, the whistleblower and the non-governmental organization she was working with informed Afghan families they were assisting that they had “concerns that certain devices had been breached”.

“We recommended that they relocate if they could and changed their mobile numbers. These represented the primary information that, if the Taliban acquired this information, would cause them being traced,” the source testified.

Contested Findings

The source disputed that an official review conducted by an ex-government employee had been mistaken to state that the acquisition of the records by the Taliban was “minimally impact present danger”.

“The crucial point is that these individuals are in hiding from the authorities; they live secretly. Everything boils down to former occupations.”

The source explained terrible violence suffered by concerned people, including electrocution, waterboarding, and severe beatings.

“Instances include young kids who have had their arms broken to force households to disclose hiding places,” she testified.