🔗 Share this article Taliban Employed Discarded UK Technology to Find Afghans That Served Alongside Western Troops, Investigation Hears An informant has told the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK left behind classified devices enabling Afghanistan's rulers to track down Afghans that had served with western forces. Data Breach Puts Numerous at Risk Person A, identified as Person A, explained that people concerned by the information breach were advised to relocate and change their contact details to avoid detection from militant forces. Lawmakers are looking into the Conservative government's handling of a massive breach of confidential data involving nearly 19,000 individuals who had applied to relocate to the United Kingdom to escape militant rule. Data Disclosure Was Discovered An electronic document including private information, including identities, phone numbers and sometimes family information, was mistakenly released by a worker employed at UK special forces headquarters in February 2022. The incident became known in late 2023, when the names of several individuals who had applied to relocate to Britain appeared on Facebook. Militant Technology Many believe there's this misconception that the Taliban do not have similar capabilities that western nations possess,” the whistleblower testified to MPs. Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they have it. If they have mobile details, they can locate you down to within metres. That is what the unit achieved.” When questioned about whether the Taliban owned necessary encryption, the source stated: “They have complete capability.” Impact of the Information Leak Initial findings provided to the committee estimated that at least 49 relatives and associates of Afghans affected by the breach had been killed. A gag order concerning the breach was put in force in late 2023 and prevented all details about it from media reporting until mid-2025. Safety Measures Given injunction limitations, the source and the non-governmental organization she was working with informed affected households they were supporting that they had “concerns that certain devices had been intercepted”. “Our suggestion was that they moved when possible and changed their mobile numbers. Those were the primary information that, if the Taliban had access to these details, would lead to identification and capture,” the source testified. Challenged Assessments The source contested that an official review performed by an ex-government employee had been wrong to determine that the possession of the information by militant forces was “unlikely to substantially change current risk levels”. “The important fact is that these Afghans are not confronting the authorities; they live secretly. The primary issue involves their previous employment.” Person A described disturbing treatment endured by concerned people, comprising electrocution, interrogation techniques, and violent assaults. “We have had toddlers who have had their arms broken to force households to disclose hiding places,” Person A stated.