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A whistleblower has told a parliamentary probe that British authorities abandoned classified equipment enabling Afghanistan's rulers to identify Afghans that had served with allied troops.

Information Leak Endangers Thousands at Risk

The source, called Person A, testified that Afghans affected by the information breach were advised to relocate and alter their contact details to ensure their safety from the Taliban.

Members of Parliament are looking into official management of a serious leak of personal details affecting approximately 19k individuals who had applied to relocate to the UK to flee the Taliban.

How the Leak Happened

An electronic document containing confidential details, such as identities, contact details and in some cases relative details, was inadvertently disclosed by a worker working at UK special forces headquarters in February 2022.

The leak was discovered only in August 2023, when identities of multiple applicants who had requested to relocate to the UK appeared on online platforms.

Militant Technology

Many believe there's a misunderstanding that militant forces are without comparable resources that western nations possess,” she told lawmakers.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they possess it. Once they acquire a contact number, they are able to track your exact position. That's precisely what intelligence groups did.”

When questioned about whether the Taliban possessed advanced decryption, the whistleblower stated: “They have complete capability.”

Impact of the Data Breach

Initial findings submitted to the inquiry indicated that at least 49 kin and colleagues of people concerned by the breach had been murdered.

A gag order about the incident was implemented in August 2023 and prevented all details concerning it from public disclosure until mid-2025.

Safety Measures

Given injunction limitations, the source and the non-governmental organization she collaborated with informed affected households they were assisting that they had “suspicions that somebody's phone had been breached”.

“We recommended that they change residence when possible and switched their contact details. That constituted the primary information that, should militant forces obtained these details, would lead to them being traced,” she said.

Challenged Assessments

The source argued that an official review carried out by a retired civil servant had been mistaken to conclude that the possession of the information by militant forces was “minimally impact present danger”.

“The crucial point is that these Afghans are in hiding from the Taliban; they live secretly. The primary issue involves past work history.”

Person A described disturbing violence experienced by affected individuals, including electric shock torture, interrogation techniques, and physical abuse.

“There are cases of young kids who have had bones crushed to force relatives to say where someone is,” she testified.