Human impact of UK's Afghan data disaster revealed to MPs

"Research submitted to the UK Parliament has revealed explicit threats to life and the deaths of family members and colleagues directly linked to the Ministry of Defence's 2022 Afghan relocation scheme data breach. Led by charity Refugee Legal Support and assisted by academics from Lancaster and York universities, of the 231 individuals affected by what may be one of the UK's most damaging data protection failures, 49 of them said family or colleagues had been killed in Afghanistan."

"The survey also discovered that an even greater proportion (87 percent) reported other forms of personal risks stemming from the Taliban's reaction to the leak. Nearly 100 direct threats to respondents' own lives were reported, while 121 said their family and friends had been threatened in Afghanistan. According to 105 of those affected, the Taliban had raided their homes, and an equal number said their families' homes were also raided."

"I have suffered serious harm as a result of the Afghan data breach. My personal car was taken, and our home has been searched multiple times. My father was brutally beaten to the point that his toenails were forcibly removed, and my parents remain under constant and serious threat. My family and I continue to face intimidation, repeated house searches, and ongoing danger to our safety."

Charity Refugee Legal Support with academics from Lancaster and York surveyed 231 people affected by the Ministry of Defence's 2022 Afghan relocation scheme data breach. Forty-nine respondents reported family members or colleagues had been killed in Afghanistan. Eighty-seven percent reported personal risks tied to the Taliban's reaction, including nearly 100 direct threats to respondents' lives and 121 threats to family and friends. One hundred and five respondents said the Taliban had raided their homes and an equal number said families' homes had been raided. Affected people reported intimidation, repeated house searches, physical violence, and significant mental-health impacts including stress, anxiety, depression, concentration and memory loss, and sleeplessness.

Read at Theregister