Afghan Rulers Used Discarded British Technology to Track Down Local Nationals That Served Alongside Allied Troops, Investigation Is Told
An informant has told the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK failed to secure classified devices allowing the militant group to locate local individuals who worked with western forces.
Information Leak Puts Numerous at Risk
The source, called Person A, explained that individuals impacted by the security lapse were told to change residences and alter their contact details to avoid detection from the ruling authorities.
Members of Parliament are investigating the UK government's management of a catastrophic leak of confidential data concerning approximately 19k Afghans who had applied to relocate to the UK to avoid militant rule.
The Information Breach Happened
A data file containing confidential details, such as names, contact details and occasionally household data, was accidentally leaked by a worker working at British military command in February 2022.
The leak was discovered only in August 2023, when identities of nine people who had requested to settle in Britain surfaced on social media.
Taliban Capabilities
It appears there is a false assumption that Afghan rulers are without comparable resources that we have,” she told MPs.
Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they possess it. Should they obtain mobile details, they are able to track your precise location. That's precisely what the unit did.”
When questioned about regarding if authorities owned advanced decryption, Person A declared: “They possess all resources.”
Impact of the Information Leak
Early investigations presented to the committee indicated that no fewer than forty-nine kin and colleagues of individuals impacted by the breach had been murdered.
A gag order concerning the leak was put in force in last year and blocked relevant facts regarding the matter from media reporting until mid-2025.
Security Recommendations
Because she was restricted, the whistleblower and the aid group she collaborated with advised affected households they were assisting that they had “apprehensions that certain devices had been compromised”.
“Our suggestion was that they moved where feasible and switched their phone numbers. That constituted the primary information that, if authorities acquired these details, would cause identification and capture,” the source testified.
Challenged Assessments
The source disputed that internal investigation carried out by an ex-government employee had been incorrect to determine that the possession of the dataset by the regime was “unlikely to substantially change present danger”.
“The thing to remember is that these Afghans are not confronting the Taliban; they live secretly. The primary issue involves former occupations.”
The source explained disturbing violence suffered by affected individuals, including electric shock torture, interrogation techniques, and violent assaults.
“We have had four-year-old children who have had bones crushed to force relatives to say where someone is,” she testified.
