Taliban Employed Abandoned British Gear to Track Down Afghans That Served With Allied Forces, Inquiry Is Told

A whistleblower has told an official investigation that the UK abandoned sensitive technology allowing the Taliban to identify Afghans that had served with western forces.

Data Breach Puts Thousands in Danger

The whistleblower, identified as Person A, testified that individuals impacted by the information breach were advised to change residences and alter their contact details to avoid detection from militant forces.

Lawmakers are investigating the UK government's response of a catastrophic leak of private information concerning almost nineteen thousand individuals who had asked to move to the United Kingdom to flee the Taliban.

How the Leak Was Discovered

A data file including their personal data, including identities, phone numbers and occasionally family information, was accidentally leaked by a staff member stationed at UK special forces headquarters in last year.

The breach became known only in August 2023, when identities of nine people who had sought to relocate to the UK were posted on social media.

Taliban Capabilities

Many believe there's a false assumption that militant forces are without similar capabilities that western nations possess,” the whistleblower testified to lawmakers.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. If they have your phone number, they are able to track you down to within metres. That's precisely what the unit did.”

When questioned about whether the Taliban owned necessary encryption, Person A confirmed: “They have complete capability.”

Aftermath of the Information Leak

Preliminary research presented to the committee suggested that approximately fifty family members and colleagues of Afghans affected by the incident had been killed.

A gag order regarding the breach was implemented in August 2023 and prevented any information about it from being made public until recently.

Security Recommendations

Given injunction limitations, the whistleblower and the volunteer organization she was working with informed affected households they were supporting that they had “suspicions that somebody's phone had been intercepted”.

“We recommended that they relocate where feasible and altered their contact details. These represented the primary information that, should militant forces obtained such data, would result in them being traced,” the source testified.

Disputed Conclusions

Person A argued that internal investigation conducted by an ex-government employee had been mistaken to state that the obtaining of the information by militant forces was “not significantly alter present danger”.

“The thing to remember is that these Afghans are in hiding from militant forces; they remain concealed. All concerns relate to past work history.”

The source explained disturbing violence endured by affected individuals, comprising electric shock torture, waterboarding, and severe beatings.

“We have had four-year-old children who have had their arms broken to try to get relatives to disclose hiding places,” Person A stated.