Afghan Rulers Utilized Discarded UK Technology to Locate Local Nationals Who Worked Alongside Western Troops, Inquiry Is Told

An informant has disclosed a parliamentary probe that British authorities abandoned sensitive technology allowing the militant group to track down Afghans who collaborated with western forces.

Data Breach Puts Numerous at Risk

The source, identified as Person A, explained that Afghans affected by the data leak were told to change residences and switch their phone numbers to protect themselves from militant forces.

MPs are looking into the UK government's handling of a catastrophic leak of confidential data involving approximately 19k Afghans who had requested to relocate to the UK to flee the Taliban.

How the Leak Occurred

An electronic document including confidential details, such as identities, contact details and occasionally household data, was accidentally leaked by an official working at special operations center in early 2022.

The leak became known in late 2023, when identities of nine people who had sought to settle in the UK surfaced on social media.

Regime's Resources

“There seems to be a false assumption that the Taliban are without similar capabilities that we have,” Person A informed MPs.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they have it. If they have a contact number, they can trace your exact position. This is exactly how specialized teams accomplished.”

When questioned about regarding if authorities had access to necessary encryption, Person A stated: “They have complete capability.”

Aftermath of the Information Leak

Preliminary research submitted to the investigation suggested that approximately fifty kin and colleagues of individuals impacted by the incident had been killed.

A superinjunction about the breach was enacted in late 2023 and blocked relevant facts concerning it from public disclosure until mid-2025.

Protective Actions

Due to legal constraints, the source and the volunteer organization associated with told Afghan families they were working with that they had “apprehensions that mobile communications had been compromised”.

“We advised that they moved where feasible and altered their phone numbers. Those were the primary information that, should militant forces obtained such data, would lead to their location being found,” Person A explained.

Contested Findings

Person A argued that internal investigation carried out by an ex-government employee had been incorrect to conclude that the acquisition of the dataset by the regime was “unlikely to substantially change present danger”.

“The thing to remember is that affected people are in hiding from militant forces; they remain concealed. All concerns relate to past work history.”

She detailed horrific treatment experienced by affected individuals, comprising electric shock torture, interrogation techniques, and severe beatings.

“We have had four-year-old children who have had bones crushed to force the family to disclose hiding places,” she testified.