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A whistleblower has told the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities left behind sensitive technology enabling the militant group to identify Afghans who collaborated with international military.

Information Leak Puts Thousands in Danger

Person A, known as Person A, testified that people concerned by the information breach were instructed to move homes and switch their phone numbers to ensure their safety from militant forces.

Members of Parliament are investigating official response of a massive breach of confidential data involving nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied to come to the United Kingdom to escape the Taliban.

How the Leak Happened

An electronic document including their personal data, such as identities, phone numbers and in some cases household data, was mistakenly released by a staff member employed at British military command in last year.

The incident came to light months later, when details of nine people who had sought to settle in Britain were posted on Facebook.

Militant Technology

It appears there is this misconception that Afghan rulers do not have comparable resources that western nations possess,” the whistleblower testified to lawmakers.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they possess it. Once they acquire a contact number, they can locate you down to within metres. This is exactly how intelligence groups did.”

During testimony about if militant forces owned necessary encryption, the source stated: “They've got everything.”

Consequences of the Security Lapse

Initial findings presented to the investigation estimated that at least 49 kin and co-workers of Afghans affected by the breach had been murdered.

A gag order concerning the incident was implemented in last year and blocked all details concerning it from public disclosure until mid-2025.

Protective Actions

Because she was restricted, the whistleblower and the non-governmental organization she collaborated with informed affected households they were assisting that they had “concerns that certain devices had been breached”.

“We recommended that they relocate where feasible and altered their mobile numbers. Those were the crucial data that, if the Taliban had access to such data, would cause their location being found,” Person A explained.

Contested Findings

The source contested that government assessment conducted by a former official had been wrong to determine that the obtaining of the records by the Taliban was “minimally impact current risk levels”.

“The crucial point is that these Afghans are not confronting the Taliban; they remain concealed. The primary issue involves their previous employment.”

Person A described terrible treatment suffered by concerned people, comprising electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and violent assaults.

“We have had young kids who have had bones crushed to try to get relatives to say where someone is,” Person A stated.