Taliban Used Left-Behind British Equipment to Locate Local Nationals Who Worked With Western Troops, Investigation Hears

A confidential source has told an official investigation that the UK failed to secure classified technology allowing the militant group to locate Afghans that had served with international military.

Data Breach Endangers Numerous at Risk

The source, called Person A, testified that Afghans affected by the data leak were told to relocate and change their mobile numbers to avoid detection from militant forces.

MPs are investigating official response of a catastrophic disclosure of confidential data concerning approximately 19k individuals who had applied to move to the UK to avoid the regime.

How the Leak Occurred

A data file including their personal data, such as names, phone numbers and in some cases relative details, was accidentally leaked by an official working at British military command in February 2022.

The breach was discovered in late 2023, when details of multiple applicants who had sought to settle in Britain were posted on online platforms.

Taliban Capabilities

It appears there is a misunderstanding that the Taliban are without comparable resources that allied forces use,” she told MPs.

All equipment was abandoned in Afghanistan; they have it. Should they obtain your phone number, they can locate your precise location. That is what specialized teams did.”

During testimony about if militant forces possessed advanced decryption, Person A confirmed: “They have complete capability.”

Impact of the Security Lapse

Initial findings presented to the investigation estimated that approximately fifty kin and colleagues of Afghans affected by the incident had been executed.

A gag order regarding the leak was implemented in last year and restricted relevant facts about it from public disclosure until recently.

Protective Actions

Because she was restricted, the whistleblower and the non-governmental organization associated with advised affected households they were working with that they had “suspicions that certain devices had been breached”.

“We recommended that they relocate where feasible and changed their mobile numbers. Those were the two main details that, if authorities obtained these details, would cause their location being found,” she said.

Contested Findings

The source contested that internal investigation carried out by an ex-government employee had been incorrect to determine that the acquisition of the dataset by the Taliban was “minimally impact current risk levels”.

“The important fact is that these Afghans are not confronting militant forces; they live secretly. All concerns relate to past work history.”

The source explained horrific abuse suffered by affected individuals, including electric shock torture, waterboarding, and violent assaults.

“We have had toddlers who have had limbs fractured to try to get households to say where someone is,” she testified.