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A whistleblower has revealed the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities left behind sensitive technology permitting the Taliban to identify Afghans that had served with western forces.

Data Breach Puts Thousands at Risk

The source, called Person A, explained that people concerned by the information breach were instructed to relocate and change their contact details to protect themselves from the Taliban.

Lawmakers are investigating the UK government's management of a serious leak of personal details concerning almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had requested to relocate to the UK to flee the Taliban.

How the Leak Occurred

A spreadsheet with their personal data, including identities, phone numbers and occasionally family information, was inadvertently disclosed by a worker stationed at special operations center in February 2022.

The incident came to light months later, when the names of multiple applicants who had sought to relocate to Britain surfaced on online platforms.

Militant Technology

It appears there is a false assumption that Afghan rulers are without comparable resources that western nations possess,” the whistleblower testified to the committee.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Should they obtain mobile details, they can locate you down to within metres. This is exactly how the unit achieved.”

When questioned about whether the Taliban owned sophisticated technology, Person A stated: “They have complete capability.”

Consequences of the Information Leak

Early investigations provided to the investigation estimated that at least 49 family members and co-workers of individuals impacted by the incident had been killed.

A legal restriction concerning the leak was implemented in last year and blocked all details concerning it from media reporting until mid-2025.

Security Recommendations

Due to legal constraints, the whistleblower and the aid group she collaborated with informed individuals at risk they were supporting that they had “concerns that somebody's phone had been compromised”.

“We recommended that they moved if they could and altered their phone numbers. That constituted the crucial data that, if authorities obtained such data, would cause their location being found,” Person A explained.

Disputed Conclusions

The whistleblower argued that an official review performed by an ex-government employee had been mistaken to determine that the possession of the information by militant forces was “minimally impact an individual's existing exposure”.

“The thing to remember is that affected people are not confronting the Taliban; they remain concealed. All concerns relate to past work history.”

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

“There are cases of four-year-old children who have had their arms broken to try to get households to say where someone is,” she testified.