The UK Ministry of Defence has announced an investigation into how 49 Afghan asylum seeker files were leaked.
The UK Ministry of Defence has confirmed that 49 data breaches have occurred in the Afghan Relocation Unit over the past four years.
These included the disclosure of email addresses and other personal information to third parties. The MoD said an independent watchdog had been set up to investigate the “dangerous data breach”.
Lawyers involved in the case, including Sean Humber and Adnan Malik, have described the leaks as “shocking” and “deeply concerning and worrisome”, stressing that the latest 49 cases are part of a wider pattern and not an isolated error.
This has raised serious concerns about the security of Afghan refugees, especially those who are at risk of threats and reprisals after the Taliban returned in 2021.
In response, the UK Ministry of Defence has said that it takes data security seriously and that all incidents that reach a certain threshold will be referred to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Smaller cases are also being investigated internally to learn from them and strengthen preventive measures in the future.
