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A confidential source has told a parliamentary probe that British authorities left behind sensitive technology allowing the Taliban to locate local individuals who worked with western forces.

Data Breach Puts Thousands at Risk

The source, identified as Person A, stated that individuals impacted by the data leak were instructed to change residences and alter their contact details to ensure their safety from the ruling authorities.

Lawmakers are currently examining the Conservative government's response of a massive leak of confidential data involving approximately 19k individuals who had asked to come to the UK to avoid the Taliban.

The Information Breach Happened

An electronic document with confidential details, including names, contact details and in some cases family information, was inadvertently disclosed by an official stationed at British military command in February 2022.

The incident was discovered in late 2023, when details of multiple applicants who had applied to relocate to the UK surfaced on Facebook.

Regime's Resources

Many believe there's this misconception that Afghan rulers do not have similar capabilities that western nations possess,” the whistleblower testified to MPs.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they possess it. Once they acquire a contact number, they can locate you down to within metres. That is what intelligence groups accomplished.”

During testimony about regarding if authorities owned necessary encryption, Person A confirmed: “They possess all resources.”

Impact of the Information Leak

Early investigations submitted to the investigation estimated that no fewer than forty-nine relatives and colleagues of people concerned by the incident had been murdered.

A legal restriction about the breach was implemented in August 2023 and prevented all details about it from public disclosure until July 2025.

Security Recommendations

Given injunction limitations, the whistleblower and the non-governmental organization she collaborated with advised affected households they were working with that they had “suspicions that certain devices had been breached”.

“We advised that they moved where feasible and switched their phone numbers. These represented the two main details that, should militant forces acquired such data, would cause them being traced,” she said.

Contested Findings

The whistleblower disputed that an official review carried out by a retired civil servant had been incorrect to state that the possession of the information by the Taliban was “unlikely to substantially change present danger”.

“The thing to remember is that these Afghans are not standing up to the authorities; they live secretly. All concerns relate to former occupations.”

Person A described horrific violence endured by at-risk Afghans, including electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and violent assaults.

“We have had young kids who have had limbs fractured to pressure households to say where someone is,” she testified.