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A whistleblower has told the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities left behind classified equipment enabling the militant group to track down local individuals who collaborated with western forces.

Data Breach Puts Thousands in Danger

The source, identified as Person A, testified that people concerned by the data leak were advised to change residences and change their contact details to ensure their safety from the ruling authorities.

Lawmakers are investigating the UK government's response of a serious disclosure of personal details affecting approximately 19k individuals who had applied to relocate to Britain to flee the Taliban.

The Information Breach Happened

A data file including their personal data, comprising identities, addresses and sometimes household data, was accidentally leaked by an official stationed at UK special forces headquarters in last year.

The breach became known only in August 2023, when identities of several individuals who had sought to move to the UK surfaced on Facebook.

Taliban Capabilities

Many believe there's a false assumption that the Taliban do not have similar capabilities that we have,” the whistleblower testified to the committee.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they possess it. If they have a contact number, they are able to track your precise location. That is what the unit did.”

During testimony about regarding if authorities owned necessary encryption, the whistleblower declared: “They have complete capability.”

Impact of the Data Breach

Initial findings submitted to the investigation estimated that no fewer than forty-nine kin and colleagues of people concerned by the incident had been killed.

A superinjunction concerning the leak was put in force in late 2023 and blocked all details regarding the matter from being made public until July 2025.

Safety Measures

Due to legal constraints, the source and the non-governmental organization associated with told individuals at risk they were assisting that they had “concerns that somebody's phone had been breached”.

“We advised that they relocate when possible and changed their phone numbers. Those were the primary information that, should militant forces obtained such data, would result in identification and capture,” she said.

Contested Findings

Person A argued that government assessment performed by a former official had been incorrect to conclude that the obtaining of the dataset by the Taliban was “not significantly alter present danger”.

“The thing to remember is that affected people are not confronting militant forces; they live secretly. The primary issue involves former occupations.”

Person A described terrible abuse endured by affected individuals, comprising electrocution, waterboarding, and physical abuse.

“Instances include four-year-old children who have had bones crushed to force relatives to reveal locations,” she testified.