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A whistleblower has told the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities abandoned confidential technology permitting the Taliban to track down Afghans who worked with western forces.

Information Leak Endangers Numerous at Risk

Person A, known as Person A, testified that people concerned by the information breach were advised to change residences and change their mobile numbers to protect themselves from the Taliban.

MPs are looking into the UK government's handling of a serious disclosure of personal details involving approximately 19k individuals who had requested to move to the UK to escape the regime.

How the Leak Happened

A data file containing private information, such as names, contact details and in some cases household data, was accidentally leaked by a worker stationed at special operations center in last year.

The leak became known months later, when identities of several individuals who had requested to relocate to Britain appeared on online platforms.

Militant Technology

Many believe there's a misunderstanding that the Taliban lack comparable resources that we have,” Person A informed lawmakers.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they have it. Should they obtain a contact number, they can trace your precise location. That is what specialized teams accomplished.”

Under inquiry about if militant forces owned advanced decryption, the whistleblower confirmed: “They have complete capability.”

Aftermath of the Information Leak

Initial findings submitted to the investigation estimated that no fewer than forty-nine kin and colleagues of Afghans affected by the leak had been murdered.

A superinjunction about the breach was implemented in late 2023 and prevented all details regarding the matter from public disclosure until mid-2025.

Safety Measures

Because she was restricted, the whistleblower and the aid group associated with advised Afghan families they were assisting that they had “suspicions that certain devices had been intercepted”.

“Our suggestion was that they change residence where feasible and switched their phone numbers. Those were the two main details that, if authorities had access to these details, would cause identification and capture,” Person A explained.

Contested Findings

The source argued that government assessment conducted by a retired civil servant had been incorrect to state that the acquisition of the dataset by militant forces was “not significantly alter current risk levels”.

“The important fact is that these Afghans are not standing up to the Taliban; they are in hiding. Everything boils down to former occupations.”

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

“Instances include toddlers who have had limbs fractured to pressure the family to say where someone is,” the whistleblower revealed.