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A whistleblower has disclosed a parliamentary probe that the UK failed to secure classified equipment enabling Afghanistan's rulers to locate local individuals who collaborated with allied troops.

Information Leak Puts Numerous at Risk

The source, known as Person A, stated that people concerned by the security lapse were instructed to relocate and change their mobile numbers to protect themselves from militant forces.

Lawmakers are looking into official response of a serious breach of private information affecting approximately 19k Afghans who had asked to move to Britain to avoid militant rule.

Data Disclosure Occurred

A data file containing confidential details, comprising identities, phone numbers and sometimes household data, was mistakenly released by a staff member stationed at special operations center in last year.

The breach became known months later, when identities of nine people who had requested to move to Britain surfaced on social media.

Taliban Capabilities

“There seems to be this misconception that the Taliban lack the same sort of facilities that allied forces use,” the whistleblower testified to the committee.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they possess it. Should they obtain your phone number, they can trace you down to within metres. This is exactly how intelligence groups accomplished.”

During testimony about regarding if authorities had access to advanced decryption, the source declared: “They've got everything.”

Consequences of the Information Leak

Early investigations provided to the inquiry estimated that no fewer than forty-nine family members and colleagues of people concerned by the incident had been murdered.

A legal restriction concerning the breach was implemented in August 2023 and restricted any information regarding the matter from being made public until July 2025.

Security Recommendations

Due to legal constraints, Person A and the aid group she was working with told Afghan families they were working with that they had “concerns that mobile communications had been intercepted”.

“We recommended that they relocate where feasible and altered their contact details. Those were the crucial data that, if the Taliban acquired this information, would result in them being traced,” the source testified.

Challenged Assessments

The whistleblower contested that government assessment performed by a retired civil servant had been incorrect to state that the acquisition of the dataset by militant forces was “unlikely to substantially change an individual's existing exposure”.

“The crucial point is that these Afghans are not confronting militant forces; they remain concealed. The primary issue involves past work history.”

She detailed horrific violence endured by affected individuals, involving electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and physical abuse.

“Instances include young kids who have had limbs fractured to pressure relatives to reveal locations,” she testified.