Taliban Utilized Left-Behind British Gear to Locate Afghans That Served Alongside Western Forces, Inquiry Hears

An informant has revealed a parliamentary probe that the UK failed to secure classified equipment enabling the Taliban to track down Afghans who worked with western forces.

Data Breach Puts Numerous at Risk

The whistleblower, called Person A, testified that Afghans affected by the information breach were told to move homes and switch their contact details to protect themselves from the ruling authorities.

MPs are investigating the UK government's management of a serious breach of personal details involving approximately 19k Afghans who had asked to come to the UK to avoid militant rule.

The Information Breach Occurred

A data file with confidential details, such as identities, contact details and in some cases relative details, was mistakenly released by a staff member working at UK special forces headquarters in early 2022.

The incident was discovered months later, when details of multiple applicants who had applied to relocate to Britain were posted on social media.

Taliban Capabilities

It appears there is this misconception that militant forces are without the same sort of facilities that allied forces use,” Person A informed MPs.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. If they have a contact number, they can locate your precise location. That is what intelligence groups achieved.”

During testimony about whether the Taliban had access to advanced decryption, Person A declared: “They've got everything.”

Aftermath of the Data Breach

Early investigations provided to the committee estimated that no fewer than forty-nine family members and colleagues of individuals impacted by the incident had been murdered.

A legal restriction about the leak was implemented in late 2023 and restricted any information regarding the matter from being made public until mid-2025.

Safety Measures

Because she was restricted, the source and the volunteer organization associated with informed individuals at risk they were working with that they had “concerns that somebody's phone had been intercepted”.

“We advised that they relocate if they could and changed their mobile numbers. That constituted the two main details that, if authorities acquired these details, would cause their location being found,” she said.

Contested Findings

Person A disputed that an official review performed by a retired civil servant had been wrong to state that the acquisition of the dataset by militant forces was “minimally impact present danger”.

“The important fact is that these individuals are in hiding from the Taliban; they live secretly. Everything boils down to past work history.”

Person A described disturbing violence suffered by at-risk Afghans, including electrocution, waterboarding, and severe beatings.

“Instances include toddlers who have had bones crushed to pressure the family to reveal locations,” Person A stated.