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A confidential source has disclosed a parliamentary probe that the UK failed to secure confidential technology allowing the militant group to locate local individuals who worked with western forces.

Data Breach Puts Thousands in Danger

The source, identified as Person A, testified that people concerned by the data leak were instructed to relocate and switch their mobile numbers to avoid detection from the Taliban.

Members of Parliament are currently examining the UK government's management of a massive leak of confidential data involving nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied to relocate to the UK to escape militant rule.

The Information Breach Happened

A spreadsheet including confidential details, including identities, addresses and in some cases relative details, was inadvertently disclosed by a staff member working at UK special forces headquarters in February 2022.

The leak became known in late 2023, when identities of several individuals who had requested to move to the UK surfaced on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

It appears there is a misunderstanding that Afghan rulers lack similar capabilities that western nations possess,” the whistleblower testified to the committee.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they possess it. Should they obtain mobile details, they are able to track your precise location. This is exactly how specialized teams did.”

During testimony about regarding if authorities had access to advanced decryption, the source declared: “They possess all resources.”

Aftermath of the Information Leak

Early investigations provided to the committee suggested that at least 49 family members and co-workers of people concerned by the leak had been executed.

A gag order regarding the breach was implemented in late 2023 and restricted all details regarding the matter from public disclosure until July 2025.

Safety Measures

Given injunction limitations, the source and the non-governmental organization associated with advised affected households they were working with that they had “suspicions that mobile communications had been intercepted”.

“We advised that they moved when possible and altered their phone numbers. Those were the two main details that, if authorities obtained this information, would cause their location being found,” the source testified.

Disputed Conclusions

The whistleblower contested that government assessment performed by a former official had been mistaken to state that the acquisition of the information by the Taliban was “not significantly alter an individual's existing exposure”.

“The crucial point is that these Afghans are in hiding from militant forces; they remain concealed. Everything boils down to former occupations.”

Person A described terrible abuse suffered by concerned people, comprising electrocution, simulated drowning, and physical abuse.

“We have had young kids who have had limbs fractured to try to get households to reveal locations,” she testified.