A crucial Mod -E -e -mail security test was triggered before Afghan data

The Ministry of Defense (Mod) has removed security measures that prevent sensitive data from being triggered years before a serious violation of thousands of Afghans. The i paper can reveal.

A former high-ranking military source said that the mode's decision to control the controls in emails to non-mode employees together with a reduced understanding of understanding paved the way to the defense officer incorrectly to lead a list of the personal data of almost 19,000 Afghans and to put life in danger.

The source, which was when managing the effects of the leak in the mod when managing the leak in the administration of the incident, warned the “eroding” meaning for data protection and operational security in the department.

Defense and security insiders spoke to The i paper and described a culture in the mod in which it was removed essential protective measures that are reduced to this type of leak. The literacy and security awareness have been decreased, and the bitter infighting between the departments has tried to photograph mistakes.

They also claimed that Great Britain's rapid efforts to attribute the Afghan nationals back to chaos after the leak, in the middle of poor planning, inner disputes and questionable review about who should be brought into the country.

A former Senior Mod official said that there was “a lot of reasoning inside” about who should “and should not come back and not” to Great Britain.

The culture in the mod is in the spotlight after the person who has published the information has still worked for the department. Defense Minister John Healey said: “This is greater than the actions of a single person.”

Eroding the security culture in the mod

In February 2022, a defense officer who worked at the headquarters of the Special Forces headed the list of Afghans who applied for the move to Great Britain. Afghans living in Great Britain were sent externally.

Since the people on the list for or with the British government worked, they were at risk of reprisals when the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.

One of the reasons for the leak could be that in the past ten years the level of training and the focus on the knowledge of the staff via IT systems within the mod, said the former Senior Mod official.

They said the assumption that everyone has a basic competence, “the Mod employee may not mean the right training level for the treatment of digital information.

It is crucial that security precautions were only removed in 2018 to alleviate this type of violation, according to the source.

Before this time, Mod Systems would block all e -mails that were sent outside of its safe network, unless the sender has entered “release/authorized” in the subject line.

The measure should protect sensitive information from random leaks, but it was given up after the employees had complained that it was “impractical”. The source added that there are now “zero” backups.

It is assumed that the mode introduced a new software in January 2025 to safely share data outside the central government and the employees.

A separate British secret service source that focused on cyber security said that the effect of the data injury was profound.

The effects of the error will “undermine” public trust in the government's ability to tackle other security problems, they said.

They added that the revelation about the lack of protection against sensitive data is likely to “raise further questions about the potential for further leaks within the mod”.

While this is the largest mod violation against Afghan citizens, this is not the first. In September 2021, human errors led to the personal data of 265 Afghans, which had worked with British armed forces who were accidentally shared by hundreds of others on the same e -mail distribution list.

In December 2023, the British information commissioner condemned a fine of 350,000 GBP, which described the violation as “outrageous” and warns that he could be life -threatening.

At the beginning of this month, the mod offered a compensation of up to 4,000 GBP for Afghans four years later, which were affected by the 2021 -Data Data.

A lawn war between agencies

The latest data fiasco triggered a scramble for the re -settlement of the Afghan nationals.

Great Britain's government departments and the intelligence agencies and security authorities had to work together to decide who should bring to Great Britain. But according to sources, the classified nature of the information they dealt with made it difficult to review people.

Although this led to internal arguments, said the former mod source, which was in the department at the time of the leak of the leak: “There was a certain degree of care to ensure that we did not accept every application from a mood.”

In the midst of concerns, it is checked by the thousands of people who have been brought in Great Britain.

Hurried review process

Defense Minister John Healey said that Afghans, who arrive in Great Britain via the Afghanistan, will be set up after which the data has been licked, “go through strict national security tests before he was able to enter our country”.

However, a high -ranking source of military secret services suggested [Afghanistan] And ask what you think. “

“Or at least at one point.”

Another British secret service was questioned whether the proper reviews were ever feasible in view of the urgency and disruption of the withdrawal.

“Could you do it right at all? Especially given the chaotic way how the withdrawal was carried out.”

A state source said that everyone who arrives in Great Britain is subjected to a robust security and immigration tests.

For the thousands of Afghans, whose identities were exposed to – many Great Britain trusted enough to fight next to his forces – the consequences of the data injury remain unclear.

In the meantime, the mod must answer questions about safety sensitive data, the competence of Whitehall in order to cope with complex emergencies and the human risks caused by decision -making.

A Mod spokesman said: “This government has taken great steps to tighten protocols and to ensure the obligation to account in the entire government.

“We have introduced new secure software, improved the data training offer and appoint new main information to lead the efforts to strengthen data protection in the entire department.”