The Broken Records: tracing the human cost of the 2022 British MoD leak

In February 2022 a UK Ministry of Defence data breach exposed sensitive personal information for roughly 18,700 Afghan nationals who assisted UK forces; the leak was not publicly disclosed for nearly two years and a High Court super-injunction later restricted reporting. AOAV’s analysis highlights severe human consequences — 87% of notified individuals received direct threats, nearly half reported threats to their lives, at least 49 relatives or colleagues were killed in Taliban reprisals, and 89% reported harm to mental or physical health — and examines institutional and strategic fallout and the government’s response.