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A whistleblower has told an official investigation that British authorities left behind confidential devices enabling the Taliban to locate local individuals who collaborated with allied troops.

Information Leak Endangers Numerous in Danger

The whistleblower, identified as Person A, testified that Afghans affected by the information breach were instructed to move homes and alter their phone numbers to protect themselves from the ruling authorities.

Members of Parliament are currently examining the Conservative government's management of a catastrophic breach of personal details concerning almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had requested to relocate to Britain to flee militant rule.

The Information Breach Was Discovered

A spreadsheet containing confidential details, including names, contact details and sometimes relative details, was inadvertently disclosed by a worker employed at British military command in last year.

The incident became known months later, when details of several individuals who had sought to settle in Britain appeared on online platforms.

Taliban Capabilities

“There seems to be a misunderstanding that militant forces do not have the same sort of facilities that we have,” she told the committee.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they possess it. If they have your phone number, they can locate your precise location. That's precisely what intelligence groups achieved.”

During testimony about whether the Taliban had access to advanced decryption, Person A confirmed: “They've got everything.”

Impact of the Data Breach

Preliminary research submitted to the committee suggested that no fewer than forty-nine relatives and associates of Afghans affected by the incident had been murdered.

A gag order about the leak was put in force in late 2023 and blocked all details about it from public disclosure until July 2025.

Security Recommendations

Because she was restricted, the whistleblower and the aid group she was working with told affected households they were supporting that they had “concerns that certain devices had been compromised”.

“We recommended that they moved where feasible and switched their mobile numbers. That constituted the crucial data that, if authorities obtained this information, would result in identification and capture,” Person A explained.

Contested Findings

The source argued that government assessment performed by an ex-government employee had been wrong to determine that the acquisition of the dataset by the regime was “unlikely to substantially change current risk levels”.

“The crucial point is that these Afghans are in hiding from the authorities; they remain concealed. Everything boils down to their previous employment.”

The source explained horrific abuse endured by concerned people, comprising electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and physical abuse.

“Instances include young kids who have had their arms broken to pressure the family to disclose hiding places,” Person A stated.