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A confidential source has disclosed the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities failed to secure confidential technology permitting Afghanistan's rulers to track down Afghans who collaborated with international military.

Information Leak Puts Thousands at Risk

The whistleblower, called Person A, testified that people concerned by the information breach were told to relocate and change their mobile numbers to avoid detection from the ruling authorities.

Members of Parliament are investigating official management of a massive leak of confidential data affecting almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had asked to move to the UK to escape the Taliban.

The Information Breach Happened

A data file with private information, including names, phone numbers and sometimes relative details, was mistakenly released by an official stationed at special operations center in early 2022.

The leak came to light in late 2023, when the names of several individuals who had requested to settle in Britain appeared on social media.

Taliban Capabilities

“There seems to be a false assumption that the Taliban are without the same sort of facilities that allied forces use,” Person A informed MPs.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they possess it. If they have your phone number, they can trace your precise location. This is exactly how the unit achieved.”

When questioned about whether the Taliban owned advanced decryption, the whistleblower confirmed: “They possess all resources.”

Impact of the Security Lapse

Initial findings provided to the committee indicated that at least 49 family members and co-workers of Afghans affected by the incident had been executed.

A legal restriction regarding the breach was implemented in August 2023 and blocked any information about it from being made public until July 2025.

Security Recommendations

Because she was restricted, Person A and the volunteer organization she was working with informed affected households they were supporting that they had “suspicions that somebody's phone had been intercepted”.

“We advised that they moved if they could and altered their contact details. That constituted the crucial data that, should militant forces had access to such data, would result in their location being found,” the source testified.

Contested Findings

Person A disputed that an official review carried out by a former official had been wrong to conclude that the acquisition of the dataset by the regime was “minimally impact present danger”.

“The thing to remember is that these Afghans are in hiding from the Taliban; they remain concealed. Everything boils down to past work history.”

Person A described disturbing violence suffered by affected individuals, comprising electric shock torture, waterboarding, and severe beatings.

“There are cases of four-year-old children who have had bones crushed to pressure households to reveal locations,” the whistleblower revealed.