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A whistleblower has told an official investigation that British authorities abandoned sensitive technology permitting Afghanistan's rulers to track down local individuals who worked with western forces.

Data Breach Puts Numerous in Danger

The source, identified as Person A, testified that Afghans affected by the security lapse were told to relocate and switch their contact details to protect themselves from the Taliban.

MPs are looking into the Conservative government's management of a massive breach of personal details involving approximately 19k Afghans who had asked to relocate to the UK to avoid militant rule.

Data Disclosure Was Discovered

A data file with their personal data, comprising identities, addresses and in some cases relative details, was inadvertently disclosed by an official working at special operations center in February 2022.

The incident came to light months later, when the names of multiple applicants who had requested to move to Britain surfaced on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

“There seems to be a false assumption that the Taliban are without similar capabilities that allied forces use,” the whistleblower testified to lawmakers.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they have it. Should they obtain mobile details, they can trace your exact position. This is exactly how intelligence groups did.”

During testimony about if militant forces owned necessary encryption, the source declared: “They possess all resources.”

Consequences of the Data Breach

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

A legal restriction regarding the breach was enacted in August 2023 and prevented all details about it from being made public until July 2025.

Protective Actions

Given injunction limitations, Person A and the non-governmental organization she collaborated with informed Afghan families they were supporting that they had “apprehensions that certain devices had been compromised”.

“Our suggestion was that they relocate if they could and altered their mobile numbers. These represented the crucial data that, if authorities acquired this information, would result in their location being found,” she said.

Contested Findings

The source contested that government assessment conducted by a retired civil servant had been mistaken to determine that the acquisition of the information by the Taliban was “not significantly alter current risk levels”.

“The important fact is that these Afghans are not standing up to militant forces; they live secretly. The primary issue involves former occupations.”

She detailed horrific treatment endured by concerned people, including electrocution, simulated drowning, and physical abuse.

“Instances include four-year-old children who have had bones crushed to pressure relatives to reveal locations,” she testified.