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A whistleblower has told the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities failed to secure sensitive devices enabling the militant group to identify local individuals that had served with allied troops.

Information Leak Endangers Numerous in Danger

The source, identified as Person A, stated that individuals impacted by the information breach were advised to relocate and switch their mobile numbers to protect themselves from militant forces.

MPs are looking into official response of a catastrophic breach of confidential data affecting almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had asked to relocate to the UK to flee militant rule.

The Information Breach Occurred

A data file with confidential details, comprising identities, contact details and in some cases family information, was inadvertently disclosed by a worker stationed at special operations center in February 2022.

The breach was discovered only in August 2023, when identities of nine people who had requested to relocate to Britain were posted on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

It appears there is a false assumption that Afghan rulers do not have comparable resources that allied forces use,” the whistleblower testified to lawmakers.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they have it. Once they acquire your phone number, they are able to track your exact position. This is exactly how specialized teams accomplished.”

When questioned about if militant forces owned sophisticated technology, the whistleblower declared: “They've got everything.”

Aftermath of the Information Leak

Preliminary research submitted to the committee suggested that approximately fifty relatives and colleagues of people concerned by the leak had been murdered.

A gag order concerning the leak was enacted in August 2023 and restricted any information concerning it from being made public until July 2025.

Safety Measures

Given injunction limitations, Person A and the aid group she was working with informed affected households they were working with that they had “suspicions that certain devices had been compromised”.

“Our suggestion was that they relocate where feasible and changed their contact details. These represented the two main details that, should militant forces had access to such data, would lead to them being traced,” she said.

Contested Findings

Person A contested that internal investigation carried out by a retired civil servant had been wrong to conclude that the possession of the dataset by militant forces was “not significantly alter an individual's existing exposure”.

“The crucial point is that these Afghans are in hiding from the Taliban; they remain concealed. Everything boils down to their previous employment.”

The source explained disturbing treatment suffered by affected individuals, including electrocution, interrogation techniques, and severe beatings.

“Instances include toddlers who have had bones crushed to try to get relatives to disclose hiding places,” Person A stated.