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An informant has told an official investigation that the UK failed to secure classified technology enabling Afghanistan's rulers to identify Afghans that had served with international military.

Information Leak Puts Thousands at Risk

Person A, identified as Person A, stated that individuals impacted by the data leak were told to move homes and switch their phone numbers to protect themselves from the Taliban.

MPs are looking into official handling of a serious leak of confidential data affecting approximately 19k Afghans who had applied to move to Britain to avoid the regime.

Data Disclosure Happened

An electronic document including confidential details, comprising identities, contact details and in some cases household data, was accidentally leaked by a worker working at special operations center in last year.

The incident came to light months later, when identities of several individuals who had requested to settle in Britain appeared on online platforms.

Militant Technology

It appears there is this misconception that the Taliban do not have comparable resources that we have,” Person A informed MPs.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they possess it. Should they obtain a contact number, they can locate your precise location. That's precisely what specialized teams did.”

Under inquiry about whether the Taliban owned sophisticated technology, the whistleblower declared: “They possess all resources.”

Consequences of the Security Lapse

Preliminary research provided to the investigation indicated that at least 49 relatives and colleagues of individuals impacted by the breach had been murdered.

A legal restriction regarding the incident was put in force in last year and blocked relevant facts about it from public disclosure until mid-2025.

Protective Actions

Due to legal constraints, Person A and the aid group associated with informed Afghan families they were working with that they had “apprehensions that mobile communications had been breached”.

“Our suggestion was that they change residence where feasible and changed their mobile numbers. These represented the primary information that, if authorities obtained this information, would cause their location being found,” the source testified.

Challenged Assessments

Person A contested that government assessment carried out by a retired civil servant had been incorrect to determine that the possession of the information by the Taliban was “unlikely to substantially change an individual's existing exposure”.

“The thing to remember is that these individuals are not standing up to the authorities; they remain concealed. The primary issue involves past work history.”

She detailed disturbing violence endured by concerned people, comprising electrocution, simulated drowning, and violent assaults.

“We have had four-year-old children who have had limbs fractured to try to get households to disclose hiding places,” Person A stated.