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A confidential source has told an official investigation that British authorities failed to secure classified devices allowing the militant group to identify Afghans who collaborated with allied troops.

Data Breach Endangers Numerous at Risk

The whistleblower, known as Person A, stated that individuals impacted by the information breach were instructed to change residences and alter their phone numbers to avoid detection from militant forces.

Lawmakers are currently examining the Conservative government's response of a catastrophic breach of personal details affecting nearly 19,000 Afghans who had requested to come to Britain to avoid the regime.

How the Leak Was Discovered

A data file with their personal data, including identities, contact details and occasionally household data, was mistakenly released by a worker employed at British military command in early 2022.

The incident became known in late 2023, when the names of multiple applicants who had sought to settle in the UK were posted on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

It appears there is a misunderstanding that the Taliban lack the same sort of facilities that western nations possess,” the whistleblower testified to lawmakers.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they have it. Should they obtain a contact number, they can locate your precise location. That's precisely what the unit did.”

During testimony about regarding if authorities possessed sophisticated technology, the whistleblower confirmed: “They possess all resources.”

Impact of the Data Breach

Initial findings submitted to the committee suggested that approximately fifty relatives and colleagues of people concerned by the incident had been killed.

A legal restriction about the incident was enacted in August 2023 and blocked any information about it from media reporting until mid-2025.

Security Recommendations

Given injunction limitations, the whistleblower and the aid group she collaborated with advised Afghan families they were assisting that they had “suspicions that somebody's phone had been breached”.

“We advised that they change residence if they could and changed their mobile numbers. Those were the two main details that, if the Taliban acquired this information, would result in identification and capture,” the source testified.

Disputed Conclusions

Person A disputed that government assessment conducted by a retired civil servant had been wrong to state that the possession of the information by the Taliban was “minimally impact present danger”.

“The thing to remember is that affected people are not standing up to militant forces; they live secretly. Everything boils down to their previous employment.”

Person A described terrible violence experienced by concerned people, involving electric shock torture, waterboarding, and violent assaults.

“We have had toddlers who have had their arms broken to try to get relatives to say where someone is,” the whistleblower revealed.