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An informant has told the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities failed to secure classified devices allowing Afghanistan's rulers to identify local individuals who collaborated with international military.

Data Breach Endangers Thousands at Risk

The source, known as Person A, explained that individuals impacted by the data leak were told to relocate and switch their mobile numbers to avoid detection from the Taliban.

Lawmakers are looking into the Conservative government's management of a massive disclosure of private information concerning approximately 19k Afghans who had applied to come to Britain to avoid the regime.

Data Disclosure Happened

A data file containing their personal data, including names, phone numbers and sometimes family information, was accidentally leaked by an official stationed at special operations center in early 2022.

The breach came to light only in August 2023, when the names of nine people who had applied to settle in Britain appeared on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

Many believe there's a false assumption that Afghan rulers lack the same sort of facilities that allied forces use,” she told MPs.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they possess it. Once they acquire mobile details, they can locate your precise location. That's precisely what intelligence groups achieved.”

When questioned about whether the Taliban possessed necessary encryption, the source confirmed: “They have complete capability.”

Consequences of the Security Lapse

Preliminary research submitted to the inquiry estimated that approximately fifty relatives and colleagues of Afghans affected by the leak had been murdered.

A superinjunction regarding the breach was enacted in August 2023 and prevented relevant facts regarding the matter from public disclosure until mid-2025.

Protective Actions

Because she was restricted, Person A and the volunteer organization she was working with told Afghan families they were supporting that they had “apprehensions that mobile communications had been compromised”.

“Our suggestion was that they moved when possible and changed their mobile numbers. These represented the crucial data that, if the Taliban acquired this information, would result in them being traced,” she said.

Disputed Conclusions

The whistleblower argued that government assessment conducted by an ex-government employee had been incorrect to determine that the obtaining of the dataset by the Taliban was “unlikely to substantially change current risk levels”.

“The important fact is that affected people are not standing up to the authorities; they live secretly. Everything boils down to past work history.”

Person A described terrible abuse endured by at-risk Afghans, including electrocution, waterboarding, and severe beatings.

“Instances include young kids who have had their arms broken to pressure the family to say where someone is,” Person A stated.