Afghan Rulers Used Discarded UK Gear to Track Down Afghans Who Worked Alongside Western Troops, Investigation Is Told
An informant has revealed the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK abandoned confidential technology allowing the Taliban to locate Afghans who collaborated with international military.
Data Breach Endangers Thousands at Risk
The source, identified as Person A, stated that people concerned by the information breach were advised to change residences and switch their phone numbers to avoid detection from militant forces.
Lawmakers are currently examining official handling of a massive leak of confidential data affecting approximately 19k Afghans who had asked to move to Britain to escape the regime.
The Information Breach Occurred
A spreadsheet containing confidential details, comprising identities, contact details and in some cases family information, was mistakenly released by an official working at special operations center in last year.
The breach was discovered only in August 2023, when identities of nine people who had requested to settle in Britain surfaced on social media.
Taliban Capabilities
“There seems to be a misunderstanding that militant forces lack similar capabilities that we have,” she told the committee.
“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they possess it. Should they obtain mobile details, they can trace you down to within metres. This is exactly how specialized teams accomplished.”
When questioned about whether the Taliban owned advanced decryption, Person A confirmed: “They possess all resources.”
Aftermath of the Security Lapse
Preliminary research provided to the inquiry indicated that no fewer than forty-nine family members and associates of people concerned by the incident had been killed.
A superinjunction concerning the breach was put in force in last year and restricted all details regarding the matter from media reporting until mid-2025.
Safety Measures
Because she was restricted, the whistleblower and the volunteer organization she was working with advised Afghan families they were supporting that they had “apprehensions that certain devices had been compromised”.
“We recommended that they moved when possible and changed their phone numbers. Those were the crucial data that, should militant forces acquired these details, would lead to their location being found,” she said.
Contested Findings
Person A argued that government assessment carried out by an ex-government employee had been mistaken to state that the acquisition of the information by militant forces was “not significantly alter an individual's existing exposure”.
“The important fact is that these Afghans are in hiding from militant forces; they live secretly. All concerns relate to former occupations.”
She detailed disturbing abuse experienced by at-risk Afghans, including electric shock torture, interrogation techniques, and physical abuse.
“There are cases of four-year-old children who have had their arms broken to force relatives to disclose hiding places,” Person A stated.
