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A whistleblower has revealed the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK abandoned sensitive devices enabling the Taliban to locate local individuals who worked with western forces.

Data Breach Endangers Thousands in Danger

Person A, called Person A, explained that individuals impacted by the data leak were instructed to change residences and alter their contact details to protect themselves from militant forces.

Members of Parliament are investigating official handling of a catastrophic breach of confidential data affecting almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had applied to relocate to the UK to avoid the regime.

Data Disclosure Occurred

A spreadsheet with confidential details, comprising identities, phone numbers and occasionally household data, was mistakenly released by a staff member working at British military command in early 2022.

The incident was discovered only in August 2023, when details of nine people who had sought to move to the UK appeared on Facebook.

Regime's Resources

It appears there is this misconception that militant forces do not have the same sort of facilities that western nations possess,” she told lawmakers.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Once they acquire a contact number, they are able to track your exact position. This is exactly how specialized teams achieved.”

Under inquiry about whether the Taliban owned necessary encryption, the whistleblower stated: “They possess all resources.”

Consequences of the Security Lapse

Preliminary research submitted to the investigation indicated that at least 49 relatives and associates of people concerned by the breach had been executed.

A superinjunction concerning the breach was enacted in last year and prevented any information regarding the matter from media reporting until July 2025.

Security Recommendations

Given injunction limitations, the whistleblower and the non-governmental organization she collaborated with told individuals at risk they were working with that they had “apprehensions that somebody's phone had been intercepted”.

“We recommended that they relocate when possible and changed their phone numbers. That constituted the two main details that, if the Taliban acquired this information, would cause identification and capture,” Person A explained.

Contested Findings

The source disputed that an official review performed by a former official had been incorrect to determine that the obtaining of the information by the regime was “unlikely to substantially change current risk levels”.

“The crucial point is that affected people are in hiding from the Taliban; they live secretly. All concerns relate to their previous employment.”

She detailed horrific treatment endured by at-risk Afghans, comprising electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and severe beatings.

“We have had toddlers who have had their arms broken to try to get relatives to disclose hiding places,” she testified.