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A whistleblower has disclosed an official investigation that British authorities left behind classified devices allowing the Taliban to track down Afghans who collaborated with allied troops.

Data Breach Puts Numerous at Risk

The source, called Person A, testified that individuals impacted by the data leak were instructed to move homes and alter their contact details to protect themselves from the ruling authorities.

MPs are looking into the Conservative government's handling of a catastrophic leak of personal details affecting nearly 19,000 individuals who had applied to come to the United Kingdom to avoid the regime.

How the Leak Occurred

A spreadsheet including confidential details, comprising names, contact details and occasionally family information, was inadvertently disclosed by a staff member employed at British military command in early 2022.

The leak was discovered months later, when identities of several individuals who had applied to relocate to Britain surfaced on Facebook.

Militant Technology

It appears there is a false assumption that the Taliban do not have comparable resources that western nations possess,” Person A informed MPs.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Should they obtain a contact number, they can locate you down to within metres. That is what the unit did.”

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

Aftermath of the Data Breach

Early investigations submitted to the inquiry estimated that no fewer than forty-nine kin and co-workers of people concerned by the incident had been murdered.

A gag order regarding the leak was implemented in late 2023 and prevented any information about it from public disclosure until mid-2025.

Protective Actions

Given injunction limitations, Person A and the volunteer organization she collaborated with advised Afghan families they were working with that they had “concerns that certain devices had been compromised”.

“Our suggestion was that they change residence when possible and changed their contact details. Those were the crucial data that, if the Taliban obtained such data, would result in them being traced,” Person A explained.

Disputed Conclusions

The whistleblower contested that government assessment performed by a former official had been incorrect to determine that the obtaining of the dataset by the regime was “not significantly alter current risk levels”.

“The important fact is that these Afghans are not confronting the Taliban; they live secretly. All concerns relate to past work history.”

Person A described terrible treatment endured by concerned people, including electrocution, waterboarding, and violent assaults.

“There are cases of four-year-old children who have had their arms broken to force relatives to reveal locations,” Person A stated.