The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has offered to speed up the review of an Afghan national’s resettlement application after he posted sensitive information from a data breach on Facebook.
In February 2022, a UK Special Forces official accidentally emailed nearly 19,000 people’s personal data to someone outside government. The data was leaked from the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) resettlement scheme, which was set up in 2021 for Afghans who worked with the British government during the conflict with the Taliban.
The individual posted nine names on Facebook, claiming he could release more details if needed. He obtained the information after it was sent to an Afghan person living in the UK, who passed it on to others. The man had his rejected application overturned after being relocated to the UK, but officials have said they do not believe he will face any criminal charges.
Government sources describe the individual as having “blackmailed” his way into the country using the leaked dataset. Former veterans minister Johnny Mercer says the breach was representative of the chaos around the relocation process and that the individual used the data to get in.
The MoD has refused to comment on how many applicants affected by the breach had been harmed by the Taliban, but Defence Secretary John Healey offered a “sincere apology” to those whose details were included. An independent review found it was “highly unlikely” an individual would have been targeted solely because of the breach.
The incident highlights the risks associated with sensitive data breaches and the importance of robust security checks for those seeking relocation to the UK under Afghan resettlement schemes.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0rvyqd7wq2o