🔗 Share this article Taliban Utilized Abandoned UK Equipment to Locate Afghans That Served With Western Forces, Inquiry Is Told A whistleblower has revealed the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities abandoned sensitive equipment enabling Afghanistan's rulers to track down local individuals who collaborated with international military. Data Breach Endangers Numerous in Danger The source, identified as Person A, testified that Afghans affected by the information breach were instructed to relocate and alter their phone numbers to protect themselves from the Taliban. MPs are currently examining the UK government's management of a serious leak of private information concerning nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied to relocate to the United Kingdom to avoid the Taliban. How the Leak Occurred An electronic document including private information, comprising names, addresses and occasionally family information, was mistakenly released by a staff member stationed at special operations center in last year. The incident came to light in late 2023, when details of nine people who had sought to relocate to the UK were posted on online platforms. Militant Technology It appears there is a false assumption that the Taliban lack similar capabilities that allied forces use,” she told lawmakers. “We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they have it. Should they obtain your phone number, they can trace your exact position. That's precisely what specialized teams accomplished.” During testimony about if militant forces had access to necessary encryption, Person A confirmed: “They possess all resources.” Impact of the Security Lapse Preliminary research presented to the inquiry suggested that no fewer than forty-nine relatives and co-workers of people concerned by the breach had been murdered. A superinjunction regarding the leak was implemented in last year and blocked all details concerning it from being made public until recently. Safety Measures Given injunction limitations, the whistleblower and the non-governmental organization associated with advised affected households they were working with that they had “suspicions that somebody's phone had been breached”. “We recommended that they moved when possible and altered their mobile numbers. That constituted the primary information that, if authorities obtained such data, would cause their location being found,” Person A explained. Contested Findings The whistleblower contested that internal investigation performed by a retired civil servant had been incorrect to conclude that the acquisition of the dataset by the regime was “minimally impact an individual's existing exposure”. “The thing to remember is that affected people are in hiding from the authorities; they live secretly. All concerns relate to their previous employment.” The source explained disturbing treatment suffered by affected individuals, including electrocution, waterboarding, and severe beatings. “We have had young kids who have had their arms broken to force households to say where someone is,” she testified.