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A whistleblower has told a parliamentary probe that the UK abandoned sensitive technology permitting Afghanistan's rulers to identify local individuals who collaborated with allied troops.

Information Leak Endangers Numerous at Risk

The whistleblower, known as Person A, stated that Afghans affected by the data leak were told to relocate and change their contact details to ensure their safety from militant forces.

MPs are currently examining official response of a serious breach of confidential data involving nearly 19,000 Afghans who had requested to relocate to the United Kingdom to escape the Taliban.

The Information Breach Was Discovered

A spreadsheet including their personal data, comprising names, phone numbers and sometimes relative details, was inadvertently disclosed by a staff member employed at UK special forces headquarters in last year.

The incident became known months later, when identities of several individuals who had sought to settle in the UK surfaced on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

“There seems to be this misconception that Afghan rulers are without the same sort of facilities that allied forces use,” she told lawmakers.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Once they acquire your phone number, they can trace your exact position. This is exactly how the unit accomplished.”

During testimony about whether the Taliban had access to necessary encryption, the source stated: “They've got everything.”

Consequences of the Data Breach

Early investigations provided to the investigation indicated that no fewer than forty-nine family members and co-workers of individuals impacted by the leak had been executed.

A superinjunction concerning the incident was enacted in August 2023 and blocked any information regarding the matter from being made public until July 2025.

Protective Actions

Given injunction limitations, Person A and the aid group she collaborated with told affected households they were working with that they had “suspicions that mobile communications had been intercepted”.

“We advised that they moved if they could and changed their mobile numbers. Those were the two main details that, should militant forces obtained such data, would cause identification and capture,” the source testified.

Disputed Conclusions

Person A disputed that government assessment conducted by a former official had been mistaken to state that the possession of the dataset by militant forces was “minimally impact current risk levels”.

“The thing to remember is that these individuals are not confronting the authorities; they live secretly. All concerns relate to past work history.”

Person A described horrific violence experienced by affected individuals, involving electrocution, simulated drowning, and severe beatings.

“Instances include young kids who have had bones crushed to force relatives to disclose hiding places,” she testified.