🔗 Share this article Taliban Utilized Left-Behind UK Gear to Locate Afghans Who Worked Alongside Allied Forces, Inquiry Is Told A whistleblower has revealed the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK failed to secure confidential technology allowing the militant group to locate Afghans who worked with western forces. Data Breach Puts Numerous in Danger The whistleblower, known as Person A, testified that individuals impacted by the data leak were instructed to change residences and change their mobile numbers to avoid detection from militant forces. Lawmakers are looking into the Conservative government's management of a catastrophic leak of confidential data concerning almost nineteen thousand individuals who had applied to come to the United Kingdom to escape militant rule. Data Disclosure Happened A data file with confidential details, such as identities, addresses and in some cases family information, was accidentally leaked by a staff member stationed at British military command in early 2022. The leak became known in late 2023, when identities of several individuals who had requested to settle in the UK surfaced on online platforms. Militant Technology Many believe there's a false assumption that Afghan rulers lack comparable resources that allied forces use,” the whistleblower testified to the committee. All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; they possess it. Once they acquire mobile details, they can trace you down to within metres. That is what intelligence groups achieved.” When questioned about if militant forces owned necessary encryption, the whistleblower stated: “They have complete capability.” Aftermath of the Information Leak Preliminary research presented to the inquiry indicated that no fewer than forty-nine kin and colleagues of people concerned by the breach had been executed. A legal restriction about the leak was put in force in last year and blocked any information regarding the matter from media reporting until July 2025. Safety Measures Given injunction limitations, the source and the non-governmental organization associated with informed affected households they were assisting that they had “apprehensions that mobile communications had been compromised”. “Our suggestion was that they change residence when possible and changed their contact details. These represented the crucial data that, if the Taliban had access to these details, would lead to them being traced,” the source testified. Contested Findings Person A argued that an official review performed by an ex-government employee had been mistaken to determine that the possession of the dataset by the Taliban was “not significantly alter present danger”. “The thing to remember is that these individuals are in hiding from the Taliban; they live secretly. Everything boils down to past work history.” The source explained terrible treatment endured by at-risk Afghans, comprising electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and severe beatings. “Instances include four-year-old children who have had bones crushed to try to get relatives to say where someone is,” the whistleblower revealed.