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A whistleblower has told the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities left behind classified equipment permitting the Taliban to track down local individuals that had served with western forces.

Data Breach Endangers Thousands at Risk

Person A, identified as Person A, testified that Afghans affected by the security lapse were advised to change residences and switch their mobile numbers to protect themselves from militant forces.

Lawmakers are currently examining official response of a catastrophic breach of private information involving approximately 19k individuals who had asked to come to the UK to flee the Taliban.

Data Disclosure Occurred

A spreadsheet with confidential details, including identities, phone numbers and in some cases relative details, was accidentally leaked by a worker employed at British military command in last year.

The incident was discovered months later, when details of nine people who had sought to relocate to the UK appeared on social media.

Regime's Resources

“There seems to be a false assumption that Afghan rulers are without comparable resources that allied forces use,” Person A informed lawmakers.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Should they obtain a contact number, they are able to track your precise location. That's precisely what specialized teams achieved.”

During testimony about regarding if authorities possessed advanced decryption, Person A stated: “They have complete capability.”

Consequences of the Data Breach

Preliminary research submitted to the committee estimated that at least 49 kin and colleagues of people concerned by the breach had been murdered.

A gag order concerning the breach was implemented in late 2023 and prevented relevant facts concerning it from being made public until mid-2025.

Security Recommendations

Given injunction limitations, the source and the non-governmental organization she collaborated with informed individuals at risk they were working with that they had “apprehensions that mobile communications had been intercepted”.

“Our suggestion was that they change residence where feasible and switched their contact details. These represented the primary information that, should militant forces acquired such data, would cause their location being found,” she said.

Contested Findings

The whistleblower disputed that government assessment performed by an ex-government employee had been wrong to conclude that the obtaining of the information by the regime was “unlikely to substantially change an individual's existing exposure”.

“The important fact is that affected people are not confronting the Taliban; they live secretly. All concerns relate to their previous employment.”

Person A described disturbing treatment suffered by affected individuals, comprising electrocution, simulated drowning, and severe beatings.

“There are cases of young kids who have had bones crushed to try to get the family to disclose hiding places,” Person A stated.