Taliban Used Abandoned UK Technology to Track Down Local Nationals That Served Alongside Allied Troops, Investigation Learns
A whistleblower has revealed the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK abandoned confidential devices permitting the militant group to identify local individuals who worked with international military.
Information Leak Endangers Numerous at Risk
The source, known as Person A, stated that Afghans affected by the data leak were advised to change residences and change their contact details to avoid detection from the ruling authorities.
MPs are investigating official management of a catastrophic breach of confidential data affecting nearly 19,000 individuals who had requested to relocate to the UK to flee the regime.
The Information Breach Happened
A data file including their personal data, such as identities, phone numbers and in some cases household data, was mistakenly released by a worker employed at special operations center in February 2022.
The breach came to light months later, when details of several individuals who had requested to move to the UK surfaced on Facebook.
Regime's Resources
Many believe there's a false assumption that the Taliban do not have similar capabilities that we have,” she told lawmakers.
Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they have it. If they have a contact number, they can locate your exact position. That is what intelligence groups accomplished.”
During testimony about regarding if authorities had access to advanced decryption, Person A confirmed: “They've got everything.”
Impact of the Data Breach
Preliminary research presented to the investigation indicated that at least 49 relatives and colleagues of individuals impacted by the breach had been murdered.
A superinjunction regarding the incident was enacted in late 2023 and blocked relevant facts regarding the matter from public disclosure until July 2025.
Safety Measures
Given injunction limitations, Person A and the volunteer organization she collaborated with advised Afghan families they were working with that they had “suspicions that certain devices had been breached”.
“We recommended that they relocate when possible and switched their phone numbers. These represented the crucial data that, if authorities had access to this information, would result in identification and capture,” the source testified.
Contested Findings
The source argued that government assessment conducted by an ex-government employee had been wrong to conclude that the acquisition of the dataset by the regime was “not significantly alter present danger”.
“The crucial point is that affected people are not confronting the Taliban; they remain concealed. Everything boils down to former occupations.”
The source explained horrific abuse endured by affected individuals, comprising electrocution, waterboarding, and severe beatings.
“There are cases of four-year-old children who have had bones crushed to force the family to say where someone is,” the whistleblower revealed.
