At least 49 family members and colleagues of Afghans affected by the MoD\u2019s mass data breach have been killed, according to research submitted to a parliamentary committee.<\/p>\n
The first on-the-ground research into 350 affected people in Afghanistan, the UK or elsewhere has found that, of the 231 respondents who received notification from the Ministry of Defence<\/a> (MoD) that their data had been leaked, 49 responded that either a colleague or a family member had been killed as a result of the data breach.<\/p>\n The research, submitted to the Commons defence select committee inquiry into the data breach<\/a>, found that, of those surveyed, 200 of the 231 notified (87%) reported threats made to themselves or members of their families, while 99 (43%) reported a direct threat made to their life as a result of the data breach. A total of 121 (52%) said that family or friends in Afghanistan had been threatened by the Taliban.<\/p>\n Olivia Clark, the executive director of Refugee Legal Support, which conducted the research in partnership with academics from Lancaster and York Universities, said: \u201cThis research lays bare the devastating human consequences of the MoD data breach. By centring Afghan voices and documenting their experiences, it fills a critical gap in understanding the real-world impact of the breach.<\/p>\n \u201cAfghans who served alongside UK forces have faced renewed threats, violent assaults, and even the killing of family members after their personal details were exposed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe UK government must act urgently to ensure their safety, accelerate relocation applications, and provide proper redress for those whose lives have been put at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n Details of nearly 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan were leaked mistakenly<\/a> in February 2022 by a British official. The previous government found out about this in August 2023 when details were posted on Facebook.<\/p>\n A superinjunction blocking reporting about the breach was subsequently imposed preventing details being reported until July of this year, when it was lifted.<\/p>\n The Daily Telegraph reported<\/a> in July that more than 200 former Afghan soldiers and police officers were killed in the wake of the data breach. However, it is not known how many of them had their names included on the data leak list.<\/p>\n However, an MoD spokesperson referred to a previous review, arguing \u201cit is highly unlikely that merely being on a spreadsheet would be grounds for an individual to be targeted\u201d.<\/p>\n A former Afghan National Army member in Afghanistan<\/a>, who took part in the research, said: \u201cThe delay between the discovery of the data breach in 2023 and the communication in July 2025 is deeply concerning and unacceptable. Waiting almost two years to inform individuals that their personal data was compromised has put many lives at risk unnecessarily.<\/p>\n \u201cImmediate notification could have allowed us to take protective measures much earlier. This delay shows a serious lack of urgency and responsibility from the Ministry of Defence, especially considering the sensitive nature of our backgrounds and the high-risk environment we live in.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n In other evidence to the defence committee\u2019s inquiry, a man referred to as Person A, who describes himself as an independent volunteer caseworker working with Afghans at risk, said he was alerted to the data breach on 13 August 2023 and flagged it to the MoD but did not receive a reply until 21 August 2023 when he tagged a defence minister in a social media post.<\/p>\n