The identities of over 100 British officials, including MI6 and special forces members, were exposed in a major Ministry of Defence data breach, alongside sensitive details of nearly 19,000 Afghans who worked with the UK during the Afghanistan war, according to BBC.
The breach, caused by an email error in February 2022, went unnoticed until August 2023 when part of the data appeared online. Some affected Afghans now fear Taliban reprisals, though the group denies targeting them.
In response, the government launched a covert resettlement scheme, relocating 4,500 Afghans, with 2,400 more expected. Defence Secretary John Healey called it a “serious departmental error,” while the Ministry of Defence stressed it takes personnel security seriously but declined to comment on special forces, BBC reported.
