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A whistleblower has told the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK left behind sensitive technology allowing the Taliban to identify local individuals who worked with international military.

Information Leak Endangers Thousands at Risk

The whistleblower, known as Person A, stated that individuals impacted by the information breach were told to relocate and switch their phone numbers to avoid detection from the ruling authorities.

MPs are looking into the Conservative government's response of a catastrophic disclosure of confidential data affecting approximately 19k Afghans who had requested to relocate to the UK to flee the regime.

How the Leak Was Discovered

An electronic document including confidential details, comprising names, phone numbers and in some cases household data, was accidentally leaked by an official working at UK special forces headquarters in last year.

The breach came to light months later, when the names of multiple applicants who had applied to move to the UK surfaced on social media.

Militant Technology

It appears there is a false assumption that Afghan rulers do not have comparable resources that we have,” the whistleblower testified to the committee.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they possess it. Once they acquire a contact number, they are able to track your precise location. This is exactly how the unit did.”

During testimony about whether the Taliban possessed necessary encryption, Person A confirmed: “They possess all resources.”

Impact of the Information Leak

Preliminary research presented to the committee suggested that at least 49 family members and associates of individuals impacted by the breach had been murdered.

A legal restriction regarding the incident was put in force in late 2023 and prevented any information regarding the matter from being made public until July 2025.

Protective Actions

Due to legal constraints, the source and the aid group she collaborated with informed Afghan families they were supporting that they had “apprehensions that somebody's phone had been breached”.

“Our suggestion was that they moved when possible and switched their phone numbers. These represented the primary information that, should militant forces obtained this information, would result in identification and capture,” she said.

Contested Findings

The source argued that internal investigation carried out by a former official had been wrong to conclude that the acquisition of the records by the Taliban was “minimally impact an individual's existing exposure”.

“The important fact is that affected people are not confronting the Taliban; they are in hiding. Everything boils down to their previous employment.”

The source explained terrible violence suffered by affected individuals, involving electric shock torture, simulated drowning, and physical abuse.

“We have had young kids who have had bones crushed to try to get the family to disclose hiding places,” the whistleblower revealed.