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A confidential source has revealed the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities failed to secure sensitive devices permitting the Taliban to track down Afghans that had served with western forces.

Information Leak Puts Numerous at Risk

The source, called Person A, stated that individuals impacted by the information breach were instructed to relocate and change their phone numbers to avoid detection from militant forces.

Lawmakers are currently examining the UK government's response of a serious breach of confidential data affecting nearly 19,000 individuals who had applied to move to the UK to flee the Taliban.

How the Leak Occurred

An electronic document containing their personal data, such as names, contact details and sometimes family information, was accidentally leaked by a worker working at UK special forces headquarters in last year.

The breach was discovered months later, when identities of multiple applicants who had requested to settle in the UK were posted on social media.

Regime's Resources

It appears there is this misconception that the Taliban are without the same sort of facilities that allied forces use,” the whistleblower testified to lawmakers.

“We left it all behind in Afghanistan; they possess it. If they have your phone number, they can trace your precise location. That is what the unit did.”

During testimony about regarding if authorities had access to sophisticated technology, Person A stated: “They have complete capability.”

Impact of the Security Lapse

Early investigations provided to the committee suggested that no fewer than forty-nine relatives and associates of Afghans affected by the leak had been killed.

A superinjunction regarding the breach was put in force in late 2023 and prevented all details regarding the matter from public disclosure until July 2025.

Security Recommendations

Due to legal constraints, the source and the non-governmental organization she collaborated with informed Afghan families they were working with that they had “apprehensions that certain devices had been compromised”.

“We advised that they moved when possible and switched their phone numbers. Those were the crucial data that, if authorities had access to these details, would result in them being traced,” Person A explained.

Disputed Conclusions

The source argued that internal investigation carried out by an ex-government employee had been incorrect to conclude that the obtaining of the information by militant forces was “not significantly alter an individual's existing exposure”.

“The crucial point is that these Afghans are in hiding from the authorities; they live secretly. All concerns relate to past work history.”

Person A described disturbing violence endured by at-risk Afghans, including electric shock torture, interrogation techniques, and violent assaults.

“We have had four-year-old children who have had their arms broken to pressure the family to reveal locations,” she testified.