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A confidential source has told a parliamentary probe that the UK failed to secure classified technology enabling the Taliban to track down local individuals who collaborated with western forces.

Information Leak Endangers Numerous at Risk

The source, called Person A, stated that individuals impacted by the security lapse were instructed to relocate and change their mobile numbers to ensure their safety from the ruling authorities.

MPs are looking into official response of a massive breach of private information affecting approximately 19k Afghans who had requested to move to the UK to flee the Taliban.

The Information Breach Was Discovered

A data file with confidential details, including names, contact details and in some cases household data, was inadvertently disclosed by a worker working at UK special forces headquarters in February 2022.

The leak was discovered months later, when identities of multiple applicants who had sought to move to the UK were posted on Facebook.

Militant Technology

Many believe there's this misconception that militant forces do not have comparable resources that we have,” Person A informed the committee.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Once they acquire mobile details, they can trace your exact position. That is what specialized teams accomplished.”

Under inquiry about regarding if authorities possessed advanced decryption, the whistleblower confirmed: “They've got everything.”

Aftermath of the Data Breach

Preliminary research presented to the inquiry estimated that at least 49 relatives and colleagues of Afghans affected by the breach had been executed.

A superinjunction concerning the leak was enacted in August 2023 and restricted relevant facts about it from public disclosure until mid-2025.

Security Recommendations

Due to legal constraints, the source and the non-governmental organization she was working with informed affected households they were supporting that they had “apprehensions that certain devices had been breached”.

“Our suggestion was that they moved where feasible and altered their mobile numbers. Those were the primary information that, if the Taliban acquired these details, would lead to them being traced,” Person A explained.

Disputed Conclusions

The whistleblower argued that internal investigation conducted by an ex-government employee had been wrong to conclude that the acquisition of the dataset by militant forces was “not significantly alter current risk levels”.

“The crucial point is that these Afghans are not confronting the authorities; they live secretly. All concerns relate to former occupations.”

The source explained disturbing abuse suffered by concerned people, comprising electrocution, waterboarding, and violent assaults.

“We have had four-year-old children who have had their arms broken to force households to disclose hiding places,” Person A stated.