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A confidential source has told the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK failed to secure classified technology allowing Afghanistan's rulers to identify local individuals who collaborated with allied troops.

Data Breach Puts Numerous at Risk

The source, known as Person A, stated that Afghans affected by the information breach were told to change residences and switch their phone numbers to avoid detection from the Taliban.

MPs are looking into the Conservative government's handling of a serious leak of confidential data involving approximately 19k Afghans who had applied to come to the UK to avoid the Taliban.

The Information Breach Occurred

An electronic document including private information, including names, addresses and sometimes family information, was mistakenly released by an official stationed at British military command in last year.

The incident was discovered months later, when identities of several individuals who had sought to relocate to the UK appeared on online platforms.

Militant Technology

It appears there is this misconception that militant forces do not have comparable resources that allied forces use,” Person A informed the committee.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they have it. Should they obtain a contact number, they are able to track your exact position. That's precisely what the unit did.”

During testimony about regarding if authorities owned necessary encryption, Person A confirmed: “They have complete capability.”

Impact of the Security Lapse

Initial findings provided to the inquiry estimated that approximately fifty kin and co-workers of individuals impacted by the leak had been executed.

A superinjunction concerning the breach was implemented in late 2023 and restricted relevant facts regarding the matter from public disclosure until mid-2025.

Safety Measures

Because she was restricted, Person A and the non-governmental organization she collaborated with told individuals at risk they were working with that they had “suspicions that mobile communications had been intercepted”.

“We advised that they relocate where feasible and changed their phone numbers. That constituted the primary information that, if authorities had access to this information, would lead to them being traced,” she said.

Challenged Assessments

The source contested that government assessment carried out by a retired civil servant had been wrong to determine that the obtaining of the dataset by the Taliban was “minimally impact current risk levels”.

“The important fact is that these individuals are not standing up to the Taliban; they are in hiding. Everything boils down to their previous employment.”

The source explained disturbing abuse experienced by concerned people, involving electric shock torture, waterboarding, and physical abuse.

“There are cases of young kids who have had their arms broken to try to get relatives to say where someone is,” Person A stated.