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A whistleblower has told a parliamentary probe that the UK left behind confidential devices enabling Afghanistan's rulers to identify local individuals who collaborated with international military.

Information Leak Puts Numerous at Risk

The source, known as Person A, stated that Afghans affected by the data leak were instructed to move homes and switch their contact details to avoid detection from the Taliban.

MPs are looking into the Conservative government's management of a serious leak of confidential data involving approximately 19k Afghans who had applied to relocate to Britain to flee militant rule.

Data Disclosure Was Discovered

An electronic document including private information, comprising names, phone numbers and sometimes family information, was accidentally leaked by a staff member stationed at special operations center in February 2022.

The breach became known in late 2023, when identities of several individuals who had sought to relocate to Britain appeared on social media.

Taliban Capabilities

It appears there is a false assumption that the Taliban do not have similar capabilities that we have,” she told lawmakers.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Should they obtain your phone number, they can trace your precise location. This is exactly how specialized teams accomplished.”

When questioned about if militant forces owned sophisticated technology, the whistleblower stated: “They've got everything.”

Consequences of the Data Breach

Preliminary research provided to the inquiry suggested that no fewer than forty-nine family members and colleagues of Afghans affected by the leak had been murdered.

A legal restriction about the breach was enacted in August 2023 and restricted relevant facts regarding the matter from being made public until July 2025.

Security Recommendations

Because she was restricted, Person A and the volunteer organization associated with told Afghan families they were supporting that they had “apprehensions that mobile communications had been breached”.

“We advised that they relocate if they could and switched their phone numbers. That constituted the crucial data that, if authorities acquired such data, would lead to their location being found,” Person A explained.

Contested Findings

Person A disputed that an official review carried out by a retired civil servant had been wrong to conclude that the obtaining of the records by the Taliban was “unlikely to substantially change present danger”.

“The important fact is that these Afghans are not standing up to militant forces; they are in hiding. The primary issue involves their previous employment.”

She detailed terrible violence endured by affected individuals, including electric shock torture, interrogation techniques, and severe beatings.

“We have had toddlers who have had their arms broken to try to get the family to say where someone is,” Person A stated.