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An informant has revealed a parliamentary probe that the UK failed to secure classified devices permitting the militant group to locate Afghans who collaborated with allied troops.

Data Breach Puts Numerous in Danger

The source, known as Person A, testified that individuals impacted by the data leak were instructed to change residences and alter their contact details to avoid detection from militant forces.

MPs are currently examining official management of a serious leak of confidential data concerning approximately 19k Afghans who had requested to relocate to the UK to escape militant rule.

Data Disclosure Was Discovered

A spreadsheet with their personal data, including names, contact details and in some cases family information, was mistakenly released by a worker employed at UK special forces headquarters in last year.

The leak became known only in August 2023, when details of multiple applicants who had requested to relocate to Britain were posted on Facebook.

Militant Technology

It appears there is this misconception that Afghan rulers lack similar capabilities that we have,” the whistleblower testified to MPs.

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's precisely what specialized teams achieved.”

When questioned about regarding if authorities owned sophisticated technology, the whistleblower confirmed: “They possess all resources.”

Consequences of the Security Lapse

Preliminary research submitted to the committee estimated that approximately fifty family members and co-workers of people concerned by the breach had been killed.

A legal restriction about the breach was put in force in last year and prevented any information about it from being made public until mid-2025.

Security Recommendations

Given injunction limitations, Person A and the non-governmental organization she was working with told individuals at risk they were assisting that they had “apprehensions that somebody's phone had been breached”.

“We recommended that they moved if they could and altered their contact details. These represented the crucial data that, if authorities had access to such data, would cause their location being found,” Person A explained.

Challenged Assessments

The whistleblower contested that government assessment performed by a retired civil servant had been mistaken to conclude that the possession of the information by the Taliban was “not significantly alter present danger”.

“The thing to remember is that affected people are not confronting the Taliban; they live secretly. All concerns relate to their previous employment.”

She detailed horrific violence suffered by at-risk Afghans, including electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and violent assaults.

“Instances include young kids who have had limbs fractured to try to get the family to reveal locations,” she testified.