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A confidential source has disclosed a parliamentary probe that the UK left behind confidential technology allowing Afghanistan's rulers to identify Afghans who collaborated with western forces.

Data Breach Puts Thousands in Danger

Person A, called Person A, stated that Afghans affected by the information breach were told to change residences and alter their mobile numbers to protect themselves from the ruling authorities.

Lawmakers are investigating the Conservative government's handling of a massive breach of private information affecting almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had requested to come to the United Kingdom to flee the regime.

Data Disclosure Occurred

An electronic document including their personal data, comprising names, contact details and occasionally household data, was accidentally leaked by a staff member working at special operations center in last year.

The breach was discovered only in August 2023, when the names of nine people who had requested to settle in the UK appeared on social media.

Militant Technology

“There seems to be a misunderstanding that militant forces lack similar capabilities that allied forces use,” she told MPs.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; they have it. Should they obtain your phone number, they can trace your precise location. This is exactly how the unit did.”

During testimony about whether the Taliban had access to advanced decryption, the source confirmed: “They have complete capability.”

Impact of the Information Leak

Early investigations presented to the inquiry indicated that no fewer than forty-nine family members and colleagues of Afghans affected by the incident had been murdered.

A superinjunction about the incident was put in force in late 2023 and blocked relevant facts concerning it from media reporting until mid-2025.

Safety Measures

Due to legal constraints, Person A and the aid group she collaborated with informed individuals at risk they were working with that they had “suspicions that somebody's phone had been breached”.

“We advised that they change residence when possible and altered their contact details. That constituted the primary information that, if authorities acquired these details, would lead to identification and capture,” the source testified.

Challenged Assessments

Person A argued that internal investigation carried out by a retired civil servant had been wrong to conclude that the obtaining of the information by the regime was “not significantly alter an individual's existing exposure”.

“The important fact is that these Afghans are not confronting the authorities; they are in hiding. All concerns relate to past work history.”

She detailed horrific treatment experienced by affected individuals, including electrocution, waterboarding, and violent assaults.

“Instances include four-year-old children who have had limbs fractured to try to get relatives to disclose hiding places,” Person A stated.