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An informant has disclosed the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities failed to secure confidential technology enabling the Taliban to identify local individuals that had served with international military.

Data Breach Puts Thousands at Risk

The source, known as Person A, explained that people concerned by the data leak were told to relocate and change their mobile numbers to ensure their safety from the ruling authorities.

MPs are looking into official response of a serious disclosure of personal details affecting nearly 19,000 Afghans who had requested to move to the UK to avoid the Taliban.

The Information Breach Was Discovered

An electronic document containing confidential details, such as names, contact details and sometimes family information, was mistakenly released by an official stationed at special operations center in February 2022.

The leak became known months later, when details of nine people who had sought to relocate to Britain were posted on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

Many believe there's a misunderstanding that militant forces are without comparable resources that we have,” the whistleblower testified to the committee.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they possess it. Should they obtain a contact number, they are able to track you down to within metres. This is exactly how the unit did.”

During testimony about whether the Taliban owned advanced decryption, the whistleblower declared: “They possess all resources.”

Impact of the Information Leak

Preliminary research submitted to the committee indicated that approximately fifty family members and colleagues of individuals impacted by the leak had been murdered.

A gag order about the breach was implemented in August 2023 and prevented relevant facts about it from media reporting until mid-2025.

Safety Measures

Due to legal constraints, Person A and the volunteer organization associated with told individuals at risk they were assisting that they had “suspicions that somebody's phone had been compromised”.

“We recommended that they relocate where feasible and altered their phone numbers. These represented the two main details that, should militant forces obtained these details, would result in them being traced,” Person A explained.

Challenged Assessments

The source argued that internal investigation conducted by a former official had been incorrect to state that the acquisition of the information by the Taliban was “minimally impact current risk levels”.

“The crucial point is that affected people are in hiding from the Taliban; they remain concealed. All concerns relate to their previous employment.”

She detailed disturbing violence experienced by at-risk Afghans, including electrocution, interrogation techniques, and violent assaults.

“Instances include four-year-old children who have had their arms broken to pressure households to reveal locations,” she testified.