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An informant has disclosed the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK failed to secure classified devices allowing the Taliban to track down Afghans who collaborated with western forces.

Data Breach Puts Thousands in Danger

Person A, identified as Person A, explained that Afghans affected by the information breach were instructed to change residences and alter their mobile numbers to avoid detection from the ruling authorities.

Lawmakers are looking into official handling of a massive leak of private information involving almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had applied to relocate to Britain to escape militant rule.

How the Leak Was Discovered

A data file with their personal data, such as identities, addresses and sometimes relative details, was inadvertently disclosed by a worker stationed at UK special forces headquarters in February 2022.

The incident came to light in late 2023, when identities of several individuals who had sought to move to the UK surfaced on Facebook.

Regime's Resources

“There seems to be this misconception that militant forces are without comparable resources that allied forces use,” the whistleblower testified to the committee.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; they possess it. Once they acquire mobile details, they can locate your exact position. That's precisely what intelligence groups accomplished.”

Under inquiry about if militant forces possessed advanced decryption, the whistleblower confirmed: “They have complete capability.”

Impact of the Data Breach

Early investigations provided to the investigation indicated that at least 49 relatives and colleagues of individuals impacted by the breach had been killed.

A superinjunction about the leak was enacted in late 2023 and restricted all details concerning it from media reporting until mid-2025.

Protective Actions

Because she was restricted, Person A and the non-governmental organization associated with informed Afghan families they were working with that they had “suspicions that mobile communications had been intercepted”.

“Our suggestion was that they moved if they could and switched their mobile numbers. These represented the crucial data that, should militant forces obtained this information, would lead to their location being found,” she said.

Challenged Assessments

Person A contested that an official review conducted by an ex-government employee had been mistaken to determine that the obtaining of the records by the regime was “minimally impact current risk levels”.

“The important fact is that these individuals are not standing up to the Taliban; they are in hiding. Everything boils down to their previous employment.”

She detailed horrific abuse suffered by concerned people, comprising electric shock torture, interrogation techniques, and severe beatings.

“We have had young kids who have had limbs fractured to force relatives to reveal locations,” the whistleblower revealed.