Taliban Utilized Abandoned British Equipment to Locate Afghans That Served With Western Forces, Inquiry Is Told
An informant has disclosed an official investigation that British authorities abandoned sensitive technology enabling the Taliban to identify local individuals that had served with western forces.
Information Leak Puts Numerous at Risk
The source, identified as Person A, explained that Afghans affected by the data leak were instructed to move homes and alter their phone numbers to ensure their safety from the ruling authorities.
Members of Parliament are looking into the Conservative government's response of a catastrophic breach of personal details concerning approximately 19k individuals who had applied to come to Britain to avoid the regime.
The Information Breach Happened
A data file including their personal data, such as names, contact details and in some cases family information, was inadvertently disclosed by a worker working at UK special forces headquarters in February 2022.
The leak became known in late 2023, when the names of several individuals who had applied to settle in the UK surfaced on Facebook.
Regime's Resources
It appears there is a misunderstanding that militant forces lack similar capabilities that western nations possess,” the whistleblower testified to lawmakers.
All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. If they have a contact number, they can trace your precise location. That is what the unit did.”
When questioned about whether the Taliban had access to necessary encryption, Person A confirmed: “They possess all resources.”
Consequences of the Information Leak
Early investigations provided to the committee estimated that no fewer than forty-nine family members and associates of people concerned by the leak had been executed.
A gag order about the incident was enacted in August 2023 and blocked all details concerning it from media reporting until mid-2025.
Protective Actions
Given injunction limitations, the source and the volunteer organization she collaborated with informed affected households they were assisting that they had “apprehensions that somebody's phone had been breached”.
“Our suggestion was that they moved when possible and switched their phone numbers. Those were the primary information that, should militant forces had access to this information, would cause them being traced,” the source testified.
Challenged Assessments
Person A disputed that an official review conducted by a former official had been incorrect to determine that the possession of the dataset by the regime was “minimally impact current risk levels”.
“The crucial point is that affected people are not standing up to the Taliban; they live secretly. Everything boils down to their previous employment.”
She detailed horrific violence experienced by concerned people, including electrocution, interrogation techniques, and violent assaults.
“We have had young kids who have had limbs fractured to try to get the family to say where someone is,” the whistleblower revealed.
