🔗 Share this article

A confidential source has told the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK abandoned sensitive equipment enabling Afghanistan's rulers to track down Afghans who worked with western forces.

Data Breach Puts Thousands in Danger

The whistleblower, called Person A, testified that people concerned by the information breach were told to move homes and switch their contact details to protect themselves from the ruling authorities.

Members of Parliament are investigating the Conservative government's response of a catastrophic leak of personal details affecting approximately 19k Afghans who had asked to move to the United Kingdom to flee militant rule.

How the Leak Happened

A spreadsheet containing confidential details, including names, addresses and sometimes household data, was accidentally leaked by a worker working at British military command in early 2022.

The incident came to light in late 2023, when the names of nine people who had requested to move to Britain appeared on social media.

Taliban Capabilities

It appears there is this misconception that militant forces do not have comparable resources that we have,” Person A informed lawmakers.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; they have it. Should they obtain mobile details, they can trace your precise location. That's precisely what the unit accomplished.”

When questioned about whether the Taliban owned advanced decryption, the source confirmed: “They have complete capability.”

Impact of the Information Leak

Initial findings provided to the inquiry suggested that at least 49 family members and colleagues of Afghans affected by the breach had been murdered.

A gag order regarding the breach was enacted in last year and blocked any information concerning it from media reporting until July 2025.

Security Recommendations

Due to legal constraints, Person A and the non-governmental organization she was working with informed affected households they were assisting that they had “suspicions that somebody's phone had been breached”.

“We recommended that they change residence where feasible and changed their contact details. That constituted the two main details that, if authorities had access to this information, would cause their location being found,” Person A explained.

Challenged Assessments

Person A disputed that government assessment carried out by a former official had been mistaken to conclude that the acquisition of the dataset by the Taliban was “unlikely to substantially change an individual's existing exposure”.

“The crucial point is that these individuals are not standing up to the authorities; they live secretly. Everything boils down to former occupations.”

The source explained terrible violence suffered by affected individuals, involving electric shock torture, waterboarding, and violent assaults.

“Instances include toddlers who have had limbs fractured to force the family to say where someone is,” she testified.