🔗 Share this article Afghan Rulers Employed Left-Behind UK Technology to Track Down Local Nationals That Served Alongside Western Troops, Investigation Learns An informant has told a parliamentary probe that British authorities left behind classified equipment allowing the Taliban to track down Afghans who worked with allied troops. Data Breach Puts Numerous in Danger The source, identified as Person A, stated that people concerned by the data leak were advised to relocate and switch their mobile numbers to avoid detection from the Taliban. Members of Parliament are currently examining official response of a catastrophic leak of confidential data affecting almost nineteen thousand individuals who had requested to move to Britain to avoid the regime. How the Leak Occurred A spreadsheet with private information, comprising names, addresses and sometimes household data, was inadvertently disclosed by an official working at special operations center in February 2022. The leak was discovered months later, when identities of nine people who had applied to relocate to the UK surfaced on social media. Regime's Resources Many believe there's this misconception that the Taliban do not have comparable resources that allied forces use,” Person A informed the committee. Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; they have it. If they have mobile details, they can trace you down to within metres. That is what specialized teams accomplished.” During testimony about whether the Taliban owned advanced decryption, the whistleblower stated: “They possess all resources.” Consequences of the Information Leak Preliminary research submitted to the inquiry indicated that at least 49 kin and colleagues of individuals impacted by the incident had been executed. A superinjunction concerning the leak was implemented in August 2023 and restricted all details regarding the matter from public disclosure until July 2025. Safety Measures Due to legal constraints, the source and the non-governmental organization associated with told Afghan families they were working with that they had “apprehensions that mobile communications had been breached”. “We recommended that they moved when possible and switched their mobile numbers. That constituted the primary information that, if authorities had access to such data, would result in them being traced,” Person A explained. Disputed Conclusions Person A disputed that government assessment performed by a former official had been wrong to determine that the acquisition of the records by the regime was “minimally impact current risk levels”. “The thing to remember is that affected people are in hiding from militant forces; they are in hiding. Everything boils down to past work history.” She detailed terrible treatment experienced by at-risk Afghans, comprising electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and physical abuse. “We have had four-year-old children who have had bones crushed to force relatives to reveal locations,” Person A stated.