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A confidential source has told an official investigation that the UK failed to secure sensitive devices permitting the Taliban to track down Afghans who collaborated with international military.

Data Breach Puts Thousands in Danger

The whistleblower, identified as Person A, explained that Afghans affected by the information breach were advised to move homes and alter their contact details to avoid detection from the ruling authorities.

Members of Parliament are investigating official handling of a catastrophic leak of private information concerning nearly 19,000 individuals who had applied to come to the UK to escape the Taliban.

How the Leak Happened

A spreadsheet including their personal data, including names, contact details and sometimes household data, was inadvertently disclosed by a worker stationed at British military command in early 2022.

The leak was discovered months later, when identities of multiple applicants who had sought to relocate to Britain appeared on social media.

Militant Technology

“There seems to be a false assumption that militant forces do not have the same sort of facilities that western nations possess,” the whistleblower testified to lawmakers.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they possess it. If they have mobile details, they are able to track your precise location. This is exactly how specialized teams accomplished.”

When questioned about regarding if authorities owned advanced decryption, the whistleblower stated: “They have complete capability.”

Aftermath of the Information Leak

Preliminary research provided to the committee estimated that at least 49 family members and associates of people concerned by the leak had been executed.

A gag order regarding the leak was implemented in August 2023 and blocked any information concerning it from public disclosure until mid-2025.

Safety Measures

Due to legal constraints, the source and the volunteer organization associated with informed individuals at risk they were supporting that they had “suspicions that certain devices had been compromised”.

“We recommended that they change residence if they could and switched their contact details. That constituted the two main details that, if authorities obtained this information, would lead to them being traced,” the source testified.

Challenged Assessments

The whistleblower disputed that an official review carried out by a retired civil servant had been mistaken to conclude that the acquisition of the dataset by the Taliban was “minimally impact current risk levels”.

“The important fact is that affected people are not standing up to the authorities; they remain concealed. The primary issue involves former occupations.”

The source explained horrific violence endured by concerned people, comprising electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and physical abuse.

“There are cases of young kids who have had their arms broken to try to get the family to disclose hiding places,” she testified.