Taliban Employed Discarded UK Technology to Find Afghans That Served With Allied Troops, Investigation Is Told
An informant has told an official investigation that the UK abandoned sensitive technology permitting the Taliban to locate Afghans who collaborated with western forces.
Data Breach Endangers Thousands at Risk
Person A, called Person A, stated that individuals impacted by the information breach were advised to relocate and alter their phone numbers to protect themselves from militant forces.
MPs are investigating official response of a serious breach of personal details involving almost nineteen thousand individuals who had asked to relocate to Britain to avoid the Taliban.
The Information Breach Occurred
An electronic document with private information, such as identities, phone numbers and sometimes relative details, was inadvertently disclosed by a worker employed at British military command in early 2022.
The incident became known in late 2023, when identities of multiple applicants who had requested to relocate to the UK surfaced on online platforms.
Taliban Capabilities
Many believe there's this misconception that militant forces are without comparable resources that western nations possess,” the whistleblower testified to lawmakers.
All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; they have it. If they have mobile details, they are able to track your exact position. This is exactly how specialized teams accomplished.”
During testimony about if militant forces had access to sophisticated technology, Person A declared: “They've got everything.”
Aftermath of the Data Breach
Early investigations submitted to the inquiry estimated that approximately fifty family members and colleagues of individuals impacted by the breach had been killed.
A gag order about the incident was put in force in August 2023 and prevented any information regarding the matter from media reporting until mid-2025.
Protective Actions
Due to legal constraints, the source and the non-governmental organization associated with advised Afghan families they were working with that they had “concerns that certain devices had been compromised”.
“We advised that they change residence when possible and changed their mobile numbers. Those were the primary information that, if authorities acquired this information, would result in identification and capture,” Person A explained.
Disputed Conclusions
The whistleblower disputed that an official review carried out by an ex-government employee had been incorrect to conclude that the acquisition of the dataset by the regime was “not significantly alter current risk levels”.
“The crucial point is that these individuals are not confronting militant forces; they live secretly. The primary issue involves past work history.”
The source explained disturbing violence endured by concerned people, involving electric shock torture, waterboarding, and severe beatings.
“We have had toddlers who have had limbs fractured to try to get the family to reveal locations,” the whistleblower revealed.