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A whistleblower has told a parliamentary probe that the UK failed to secure classified devices enabling Afghanistan's rulers to track down Afghans who collaborated with allied troops.

Data Breach Endangers Numerous at Risk

The whistleblower, known as Person A, explained that individuals impacted by the security lapse were instructed to change residences and change their phone numbers to protect themselves from the ruling authorities.

Lawmakers are currently examining official handling of a massive disclosure of confidential data involving approximately 19k Afghans who had requested to relocate to the United Kingdom to escape the regime.

How the Leak Occurred

An electronic document containing their personal data, including names, contact details and occasionally household data, was inadvertently disclosed by an official working at UK special forces headquarters in early 2022.

The incident was discovered months later, when the names of nine people who had sought to settle in Britain appeared on social media.

Taliban Capabilities

It appears there is a false assumption that militant forces lack comparable resources that western nations possess,” the whistleblower testified to lawmakers.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Should they obtain mobile details, they can locate you down to within metres. That is what the unit did.”

When questioned about whether the Taliban had access to advanced decryption, the source confirmed: “They possess all resources.”

Consequences of the Information Leak

Early investigations provided to the inquiry indicated that at least 49 kin and associates of people concerned by the incident had been killed.

A legal restriction regarding the incident was enacted in August 2023 and blocked any information about it from public disclosure until July 2025.

Safety Measures

Because she was restricted, Person A and the aid group associated with informed Afghan families they were assisting that they had “apprehensions that somebody's phone had been compromised”.

“We recommended that they moved where feasible and switched their mobile numbers. That constituted the crucial data that, if authorities had access to such data, would lead to identification and capture,” Person A explained.

Contested Findings

Person A disputed that government assessment performed by a retired civil servant had been wrong to determine that the obtaining of the dataset by the regime was “not significantly alter current risk levels”.

“The crucial point is that affected people are not confronting the authorities; they live secretly. All concerns relate to past work history.”

She detailed disturbing violence experienced by concerned people, including electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and physical abuse.

“We have had toddlers who have had limbs fractured to try to get the family to disclose hiding places,” Person A stated.