UK Ministry of Defence leaks data on thousands of Afghans
The UK Ministry of Defence leaked the data of thousands of at-risk Afghans. Following the leak, more than 7,300 people became eligible for resettlement in the U.K., and it was suggested that the leak may be linked to at least 49 deaths. Victims pursued legal action, and Parliament criticized the measures to prevent a recurrence as insufficient.
Key facts
- Affected organization
- UK Ministry of Defence
- Incident type
- Data breach
- Occurred / detected
- Not confirmed
- Scale of damage
- Leak of data on thousands of Afghans
- Cause / method
- Not confirmed
- Location
- Afghanistan
If your data was exposed
- Don’t tap links in texts, calls or emails that mention this incident and offer compensation, refunds or breach checks. Check directly on the organization’s official website or app.
Timeline
- A sweeping injunction on reporting of the Afghan data leak was lifted.
- It came to light that the Ministry of Defence's most senior civil servant was set to step down in the wake of the data leak.
- An audit found that more than 7,300 Afghans were set to be resettled in the U.K. following the data leak.
- It was suggested that the data leak may have led to the deaths of at least 49 Afghans.
- The UK Parliament's Public Accounts Committee said the Ministry of Defence's measures to prevent similar incidents were insufficient.
- Victims of the data leak took the first step toward legal action against the UK Ministry of Defence.
15 related reports
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- Top MoD civil servant to leave in wake of Afghan data breach
- Top MoD civil servant to quit in wake of Afghan data leak fallout
- Ministry of Defence’s top civil servant to step down weeks after Afghan data leak revealed
- MoD staff were warned not to share hidden data before Afghan leak
- More than 7,300 Afghans to be resettled in UK after MoD data leak, says National Audit Office
- MoD does not know how much has been spent on bringing data-leak Afghans to UK
- Ministry of Defence Afghan data leak: New findings reveal extent of harm caused
- UK: Defense Ministry data breach could have led to the deaths of at least 49 Afghans
- New research reveals human cost of Ministry of Defence Afghan data leak
- Afghan data breach: MoD has not done enough to stop future similar incident, PAC warns
- Afghan data breach victims take first step in suing UK Ministry of Defence
- MOD faces first legal claim over data breach that leaked details of thousands of at-risk Afghans
- MoD should ‘stick to defence’ after Afghan data leak
- Catastrophic MoD data breach would not have happened if staff had been trained on Excel
Other incidents at UK Ministry of Defence
Classified information leaked from laptop left open by UK Ministry of Defence official
Impact: Classified information
Classified information was leaked after a UK Ministry of Defence employee left a laptop open on a train. The specific scale of the leak, the date of the incident and the response have not been confirmed.
Related reports: 2 · last report →Further UK Ministry of Defence data breach affects thousands of Afghans
Impact: Thousands more Afghans affected
A further data breach at the UK Ministry of Defence affected Afghans resettled in the UK. Ministers said thousands more people were affected by the second breach.
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272KImpact: Personal data including bank details of up to 272,000 serving personnel and recent veterans
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The summary and key facts are written by AI from related reports and may contain errors. Check the original articles and the organization’s official statements for accurate details.