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A whistleblower has told the Afghan leak inquiry that the UK abandoned classified technology allowing the Taliban to locate local individuals who collaborated with allied troops.

Information Leak Endangers Thousands at Risk

Person A, called Person A, testified that Afghans affected by the data leak were advised to change residences and alter their phone numbers to ensure their safety from the ruling authorities.

Lawmakers are looking into the UK government's response of a catastrophic disclosure of confidential data concerning almost nineteen thousand Afghans who had asked to relocate to the United Kingdom to escape the Taliban.

The Information Breach Was Discovered

A data file with confidential details, such as names, addresses and sometimes relative details, was mistakenly released by a staff member employed at special operations center in last year.

The breach became known only in August 2023, when identities of several individuals who had applied to settle in the UK appeared on social media.

Taliban Capabilities

Many believe there's a false assumption that militant forces are without the same sort of facilities that allied forces use,” she told lawmakers.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. Should they obtain your phone number, they can locate your precise location. That is what the unit did.”

When questioned about if militant forces possessed advanced decryption, the whistleblower stated: “They have complete capability.”

Aftermath of the Information Leak

Early investigations presented to the investigation suggested that at least 49 relatives and colleagues of individuals impacted by the leak had been killed.

A superinjunction about the leak was implemented in late 2023 and restricted any information about it from public disclosure until July 2025.

Protective Actions

Because she was restricted, the source and the non-governmental organization associated with advised Afghan families they were supporting that they had “suspicions that somebody's phone had been compromised”.

“We advised that they moved where feasible and altered their mobile numbers. That constituted the two main details that, if the Taliban obtained such data, would result in their location being found,” the source testified.

Contested Findings

The whistleblower argued that internal investigation conducted by a former official had been incorrect to determine that the acquisition of the information by the regime was “unlikely to substantially change present danger”.

“The thing to remember is that these Afghans are not confronting militant forces; they are in hiding. Everything boils down to their previous employment.”

She detailed terrible abuse suffered by concerned people, involving electric shock torture, waterboarding, and physical abuse.

“There are cases of young kids who have had limbs fractured to pressure households to disclose hiding places,” the whistleblower revealed.