🔗 Share this article Afghan Rulers Used Left-Behind UK Technology to Find Local Nationals Who Worked With Allied Troops, Inquiry Hears An informant has revealed the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities left behind confidential devices allowing Afghanistan's rulers to locate Afghans who worked with western forces. Information Leak Puts Thousands at Risk The source, known as Person A, explained that people concerned by the information breach were advised to change residences and change their contact details to protect themselves from militant forces. MPs are looking into the Conservative government's response of a catastrophic disclosure of confidential data concerning almost nineteen thousand individuals who had asked to move to Britain to flee the Taliban. Data Disclosure Was Discovered A data file including private information, including identities, addresses and occasionally family information, was mistakenly released by a worker employed at British military command in early 2022. The breach became known in late 2023, when identities of multiple applicants who had requested to settle in the UK appeared on online platforms. Taliban Capabilities “There seems to be a false assumption that militant forces lack comparable resources that we have,” she told lawmakers. Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they have it. Should they obtain your phone number, they can locate you down to within metres. That is what intelligence groups achieved.” When questioned about whether the Taliban possessed necessary encryption, the source stated: “They have complete capability.” Aftermath of the Information Leak Early investigations presented to the investigation indicated that at least 49 kin and co-workers of people concerned by the incident had been murdered. A gag order regarding the leak was put in force in late 2023 and restricted any information concerning it from being made public until July 2025. Security Recommendations Given injunction limitations, Person A and the volunteer organization she collaborated with informed individuals at risk they were supporting that they had “suspicions that mobile communications had been breached”. “We advised that they moved when possible and altered their contact details. Those were the primary information that, if authorities obtained this information, would lead to their location being found,” Person A explained. Disputed Conclusions The whistleblower disputed that government assessment carried out by a retired civil servant had been mistaken to conclude that the obtaining of the records by the Taliban was “not significantly alter present danger”. “The crucial point is that affected people are not confronting militant forces; they remain concealed. All concerns relate to former occupations.” The source explained disturbing treatment endured by at-risk Afghans, involving electrocution, waterboarding, and violent assaults. “We have had toddlers who have had bones crushed to try to get relatives to disclose hiding places,” the whistleblower revealed.