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A confidential source has disclosed the Afghan leak inquiry that British authorities abandoned classified technology enabling the militant group to track down Afghans who worked with western forces.

Data Breach Puts Numerous at Risk

The source, called Person A, testified that Afghans affected by the information breach were advised to relocate and switch their mobile numbers to avoid detection from the ruling authorities.

Lawmakers are looking into official handling of a catastrophic disclosure of personal details affecting nearly 19,000 individuals who had applied to come to the United Kingdom to escape the regime.

The Information Breach Occurred

A spreadsheet containing confidential details, including names, addresses and in some cases relative details, was inadvertently disclosed by a staff member employed at special operations center in last year.

The leak was discovered only in August 2023, when identities of several individuals who had applied to settle in the UK were posted on social media.

Taliban Capabilities

“There seems to be a false assumption that the Taliban lack the same sort of facilities that western nations possess,” she told lawmakers.

Technology was deserted in Afghanistan; it's in their hands. If they have your phone number, they are able to track your precise location. That is what specialized teams accomplished.”

During testimony about whether the Taliban possessed necessary encryption, the whistleblower declared: “They possess all resources.”

Consequences of the Security Lapse

Initial findings submitted to the investigation indicated that no fewer than forty-nine relatives and associates of people concerned by the leak had been killed.

A gag order regarding the leak was enacted in last year and restricted all details about it from being made public until mid-2025.

Safety Measures

Due to legal constraints, the source and the aid group associated with told affected households they were supporting that they had “suspicions that somebody's phone had been compromised”.

“We recommended that they change residence where feasible and altered their contact details. Those were the two main details that, should militant forces had access to these details, would lead to their location being found,” she said.

Challenged Assessments

The source disputed that an official review carried out by a retired civil servant had been mistaken to determine that the obtaining of the dataset by militant forces was “not significantly alter current risk levels”.

“The thing to remember is that these Afghans are in hiding from militant forces; they are in hiding. All concerns relate to their previous employment.”

She detailed disturbing violence suffered by at-risk Afghans, comprising electric shock torture, interrogation techniques, and physical abuse.

“There are cases of toddlers who have had limbs fractured to force relatives to say where someone is,” the whistleblower revealed.