Afghan Rulers Employed Left-Behind British Gear to Find Afghans Who Worked With Western Forces, Inquiry Is Told
An informant has disclosed an official investigation that the UK failed to secure classified equipment allowing the Taliban to identify Afghans that had served with western forces.
Data Breach Puts Thousands at Risk
The whistleblower, known as Person A, testified that people concerned by the information breach were advised to change residences and switch their mobile numbers to avoid detection from militant forces.
MPs are currently examining the Conservative government's response of a massive breach of personal details affecting nearly 19,000 Afghans who had asked to relocate to the United Kingdom to escape the Taliban.
Data Disclosure Was Discovered
An electronic document containing their personal data, including names, contact details and in some cases relative details, was mistakenly released by a worker employed at British military command in early 2022.
The breach came to light months later, when the names of nine people who had applied to move to Britain surfaced on social media.
Regime's Resources
Many believe there's a false assumption that militant forces lack comparable resources that western nations possess,” the whistleblower testified to MPs.
“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Once they acquire your phone number, they can trace your exact position. That's precisely what specialized teams accomplished.”
When questioned about regarding if authorities owned advanced decryption, the source declared: “They possess all resources.”
Consequences of the Security Lapse
Preliminary research provided to the investigation estimated that approximately fifty relatives and co-workers of people concerned by the incident had been murdered.
A legal restriction about the breach was implemented in last year and blocked relevant facts about it from media reporting until July 2025.
Safety Measures
Because she was restricted, the source and the aid group she collaborated with told Afghan families they were working with that they had “suspicions that mobile communications had been breached”.
“Our suggestion was that they relocate if they could and switched their contact details. These represented the two main details that, if authorities acquired this information, would lead to their location being found,” Person A explained.
Challenged Assessments
The whistleblower disputed that government assessment carried out by a former official had been wrong to determine that the acquisition of the information by militant forces was “minimally impact present danger”.
“The thing to remember is that affected people are not confronting the Taliban; they are in hiding. All concerns relate to past work history.”
The source explained disturbing violence suffered by concerned people, comprising electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and physical abuse.
“There are cases of toddlers who have had their arms broken to force households to say where someone is,” Person A stated.
