🔗 Share this article

A confidential source has disclosed the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK failed to secure sensitive technology allowing the Taliban to identify Afghans who collaborated with international military.

Data Breach Puts Numerous at Risk

The source, called Person A, stated that people concerned by the information breach were advised to relocate and switch their contact details to protect themselves from the Taliban.

MPs are looking into official management of a massive breach of private information involving nearly 19,000 individuals who had asked to move to the United Kingdom to flee militant rule.

How the Leak Was Discovered

A data file including confidential details, comprising names, contact details and in some cases family information, was accidentally leaked by a staff member working at UK special forces headquarters in early 2022.

The breach was discovered in late 2023, when the names of nine people who had sought to move to the UK appeared on Facebook.

Militant Technology

Many believe there's a false assumption that Afghan rulers are without comparable resources that we have,” Person A informed the committee.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Should they obtain your phone number, they can trace your precise location. That is what the unit accomplished.”

During testimony about regarding if authorities owned advanced decryption, the source stated: “They have complete capability.”

Consequences of the Security Lapse

Early investigations provided to the inquiry suggested that approximately fifty family members and colleagues of Afghans affected by the leak had been killed.

A gag order about the leak was enacted in late 2023 and restricted all details regarding the matter from media reporting until July 2025.

Safety Measures

Because she was restricted, the source and the volunteer organization associated with advised individuals at risk they were supporting that they had “concerns that certain devices had been compromised”.

“Our suggestion was that they relocate when possible and switched their phone numbers. That constituted the primary information that, if the Taliban acquired this information, would result in them being traced,” the source testified.

Challenged Assessments

The whistleblower contested that government assessment performed by an ex-government employee had been mistaken to state that the acquisition of the dataset by the Taliban was “minimally impact an individual's existing exposure”.

“The important fact is that these individuals are not confronting the Taliban; they remain concealed. All concerns relate to their previous employment.”

The source explained disturbing abuse endured by at-risk Afghans, involving electric shock torture, interrogation techniques, and severe beatings.

“There are cases of young kids who have had limbs fractured to try to get households to say where someone is,” the whistleblower revealed.