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A confidential source has disclosed a parliamentary probe that British authorities abandoned confidential technology permitting Afghanistan's rulers to track down Afghans who collaborated with allied troops.

Information Leak Puts Thousands in Danger

The whistleblower, known as Person A, stated that individuals impacted by the information breach were advised to move homes and alter their phone numbers to avoid detection from militant forces.

MPs are investigating the Conservative government's response of a catastrophic leak of personal details concerning approximately 19k individuals who had asked to move to the UK to avoid the regime.

The Information Breach Occurred

An electronic document containing private information, including identities, contact details and sometimes family information, was inadvertently disclosed by a worker stationed at British military command in last year.

The leak came to light only in August 2023, when details of nine people who had sought to move to the UK appeared on social media.

Regime's Resources

Many believe there's this misconception that the Taliban lack similar capabilities that allied forces use,” she told lawmakers.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. If they have a contact number, they are able to track your precise location. That is what the unit achieved.”

During testimony about if militant forces owned advanced decryption, the source confirmed: “They've got everything.”

Consequences of the Security Lapse

Preliminary research presented to the investigation suggested that at least 49 relatives and co-workers of people concerned by the breach had been killed.

A gag order about the leak was enacted in late 2023 and restricted any information concerning it from media reporting until July 2025.

Protective Actions

Given injunction limitations, the source and the aid group she collaborated with advised affected households they were supporting that they had “apprehensions that somebody's phone had been compromised”.

“We recommended that they moved when possible and changed their mobile numbers. That constituted the two main details that, if the Taliban had access to this information, would lead to identification and capture,” Person A explained.

Disputed Conclusions

The source disputed that government assessment carried out by a former official had been wrong to determine that the obtaining of the information by militant forces was “unlikely to substantially change present danger”.

“The thing to remember is that these Afghans are in hiding from the Taliban; they are in hiding. All concerns relate to former occupations.”

Person A described terrible violence endured by concerned people, involving electrocution, interrogation techniques, and severe beatings.

“We have had four-year-old children who have had bones crushed to force relatives to disclose hiding places,” Person A stated.