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A whistleblower has told an official investigation that the UK failed to secure confidential devices permitting the militant group to identify Afghans that had served with western forces.

Data Breach Endangers Thousands at Risk

The source, known as Person A, explained that Afghans affected by the information breach were told to move homes and switch their contact details to ensure their safety from the ruling authorities.

MPs are currently examining official response of a catastrophic breach of private information involving almost nineteen thousand individuals who had asked to move to Britain to flee the regime.

How the Leak Happened

A data file including their personal data, including identities, contact details and sometimes relative details, was inadvertently disclosed by an official stationed at UK special forces headquarters in February 2022.

The incident was discovered only in August 2023, when details of multiple applicants who had requested to settle in the UK appeared on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

Many believe there's a misunderstanding that Afghan rulers do not have comparable resources that western nations possess,” Person A informed lawmakers.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they have it. If they have a contact number, they can locate your precise location. This is exactly how specialized teams accomplished.”

During testimony about if militant forces possessed sophisticated technology, the source declared: “They possess all resources.”

Impact of the Data Breach

Initial findings presented to the inquiry suggested that at least 49 family members and colleagues of people concerned by the incident had been executed.

A superinjunction concerning the incident was enacted in late 2023 and prevented relevant facts concerning it from media reporting until July 2025.

Protective Actions

Because she was restricted, the source and the non-governmental organization she collaborated with informed individuals at risk they were supporting that they had “apprehensions that somebody's phone had been intercepted”.

“We recommended that they moved if they could and changed their mobile numbers. Those were the crucial data that, should militant forces acquired this information, would lead to them being traced,” Person A explained.

Contested Findings

Person A argued that an official review carried out by an ex-government employee had been wrong to state that the obtaining of the information by militant forces was “not significantly alter an individual's existing exposure”.

“The thing to remember is that affected people are not confronting the authorities; they live secretly. Everything boils down to former occupations.”

The source explained disturbing treatment suffered by affected individuals, involving electric shock torture, waterboarding, and severe beatings.

“We have had toddlers who have had bones crushed to try to get relatives to reveal locations,” the whistleblower revealed.