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A whistleblower has disclosed a parliamentary probe that British authorities abandoned confidential devices enabling the Taliban to identify local individuals who collaborated with western forces.

Information Leak Endangers Numerous at Risk

The source, known as Person A, testified that people concerned by the information breach were advised to change residences and switch their mobile numbers to protect themselves from the ruling authorities.

Members of Parliament are looking into official management of a serious leak of private information involving almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had applied to move to Britain to avoid the regime.

How the Leak Occurred

A data file including private information, including identities, addresses and sometimes relative details, was inadvertently disclosed by a staff member working at UK special forces headquarters in last year.

The leak was discovered months later, when identities of several individuals who had sought to move to Britain appeared on online platforms.

Regime's Resources

Many believe there's a false assumption that the Taliban do not have similar capabilities that allied forces use,” the whistleblower testified to MPs.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they have it. If they have a contact number, they can locate your precise location. That's precisely what specialized teams did.”

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

Aftermath of the Information Leak

Preliminary research presented to the committee estimated that approximately fifty kin and co-workers of people concerned by the incident had been murdered.

A gag order concerning the incident was implemented in late 2023 and restricted any information about it from public disclosure until July 2025.

Safety Measures

Given injunction limitations, the whistleblower and the aid group she was working with advised affected households they were supporting that they had “suspicions that mobile communications had been breached”.

“We recommended that they moved where feasible and switched their contact details. These represented the crucial data that, should militant forces had access to this information, would cause them being traced,” the source testified.

Challenged Assessments

The whistleblower argued that government assessment conducted by an ex-government employee had been mistaken to state that the obtaining of the information by the Taliban was “minimally impact present danger”.

“The crucial point is that affected people are in hiding from militant forces; they live secretly. All concerns relate to their previous employment.”

She detailed horrific abuse endured by concerned people, comprising electric shock torture, waterboarding, and physical abuse.

“There are cases of four-year-old children who have had bones crushed to try to get the family to reveal locations,” Person A stated.