🔗 Share this article

A whistleblower has disclosed a parliamentary probe that British authorities failed to secure sensitive devices permitting Afghanistan's rulers to locate Afghans that had served with allied troops.

Data Breach Endangers Thousands in Danger

Person A, known as Person A, stated that people concerned by the data leak were advised to change residences and change their phone numbers to protect themselves from the ruling authorities.

Lawmakers are looking into the UK government's response of a serious disclosure of confidential data affecting almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had asked to come to the United Kingdom to avoid the regime.

The Information Breach Was Discovered

An electronic document including confidential details, comprising identities, phone numbers and sometimes relative details, was inadvertently disclosed by a worker employed at British military command in last year.

The breach became known months later, when details of nine people who had requested to settle in Britain appeared on online platforms.

Regime's Resources

It appears there is a misunderstanding that militant forces lack similar capabilities that we have,” the whistleblower testified to MPs.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; they have it. If they have your phone number, they can locate you down to within metres. That is what the unit did.”

Under inquiry about whether the Taliban had access to advanced decryption, Person A declared: “They possess all resources.”

Aftermath of the Information Leak

Early investigations presented to the investigation suggested that at least 49 relatives and colleagues of individuals impacted by the leak had been murdered.

A gag order about the breach was enacted in August 2023 and blocked any information regarding the matter from being made public until July 2025.

Protective Actions

Because she was restricted, Person A and the aid group she was working with advised Afghan families they were supporting that they had “concerns that somebody's phone had been compromised”.

“Our suggestion was that they moved if they could and switched their phone numbers. These represented the crucial data that, should militant forces had access to these details, would lead to identification and capture,” she said.

Contested Findings

Person A disputed that an official review conducted by a retired civil servant had been mistaken to state that the acquisition of the dataset by the regime was “not significantly alter an individual's existing exposure”.

“The important fact is that these Afghans are in hiding from the Taliban; they live secretly. The primary issue involves past work history.”

Person A described terrible abuse endured by concerned people, comprising electrocution, waterboarding, and severe beatings.

“There are cases of toddlers who have had their arms broken to force relatives to disclose hiding places,” the whistleblower revealed.