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A whistleblower has told the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities left behind confidential technology enabling the Taliban to track down Afghans who collaborated with western forces.

Data Breach Endangers Numerous at Risk

The whistleblower, known as Person A, testified that people concerned by the data leak were instructed to change residences and switch their phone numbers to ensure their safety from the Taliban.

MPs are looking into official management of a serious disclosure of confidential data concerning almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had asked to come to the UK to avoid the Taliban.

The Information Breach Occurred

An electronic document with confidential details, such as identities, contact details and in some cases relative details, was mistakenly released by an official employed at UK special forces headquarters in February 2022.

The breach was discovered in late 2023, when details of nine people who had applied to move to Britain appeared on Facebook.

Regime's Resources

“There seems to be a misunderstanding that Afghan rulers do not have the same sort of facilities that western nations possess,” she told MPs.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Once they acquire your phone number, they can trace you down to within metres. This is exactly how intelligence groups accomplished.”

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

Consequences of the Security Lapse

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

A gag order concerning the incident was put in force in August 2023 and restricted all details regarding the matter from public disclosure until July 2025.

Protective Actions

Due to legal constraints, Person A and the volunteer organization she collaborated with advised affected households they were supporting that they had “apprehensions that certain devices had been intercepted”.

“We advised that they change residence when possible and altered their contact details. Those were the two main details that, should militant forces acquired these details, would cause their location being found,” Person A explained.

Contested Findings

Person A contested that government assessment carried out by a former official had been wrong to determine that the acquisition of the dataset by the Taliban was “not significantly alter present danger”.

“The thing to remember is that affected people are not standing up to the authorities; they live secretly. Everything boils down to their previous employment.”

Person A described terrible abuse experienced by at-risk Afghans, including electrocution, waterboarding, and violent assaults.

“We have had four-year-old children who have had bones crushed to try to get households to disclose hiding places,” the whistleblower revealed.