The biometric, social and business data the Taliban could use to target left-behind Afghans

Published

4 years ago

August 27, 2021

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Concerns are mounting that the Taliban has gained access to vast amounts of personal information through former US military and Afghan government databases that could allow them to target civilians.

It would be the first time the group has acquired the personal information of Afghan civilians on such a scale.

Afghans are also racing to erase social media profiles, while international organisations scramble to delete any remaining evidence that could reveal information on the locals they have worked with over the past 20 years.

And with reports that documents identifying job applicants and Afghan workers were left outside the British embassy, the threat of identifying information falling into the wrong hands is more real than ever.

But what information could the Taliban access and what could it mean for Afghan civilians?

Biometric data

At least three digital identity systems using biometric data are known to have been operated recently in Afghanistan, according to digital human rights group Access Now.

One of them – the Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment (HIIDE) – was initially operated by US forces as a means of collecting iris, fingerprint and facial scans of criminals and insurgents during the war.

But it was later used to log the data of Afghans assisting the US among others, with investigative reporter Annie Jacobsen reporting that the Pentagon aimed to gather biometric data on 80% of the Afghan population.

Reports indicate that HIIDE equipment – and therefore the large centralised databases of personal information they are linked to – was seized by the Taliban last week.

It’s not known how many people’s sensitive, identifying information can now be retrieved by the group as a result.

The consequences could be fatal, with reports that Taliban fighters are going house to house to find people who worked with foreign forces.

But there are also less immediate implications which might stop people hiding from the Taliban from accessing services such as healthcare and further education, according to Brian Dooley of Human Rights First, a US-based human rights group.

“Will people want to go to hospital if they know that when they come into contact with the authorities, they will have access to biometric data and there’s no hiding who you are, and what your history was?” he told Sky News.

Human Rights First have produced guides on how to erase digital history and evade misuse of biometric data.

Two government-run biometric databases were also recently operational in Afghanistan: the controversial e-Tazkira identity cards and US-supported Afghanistan Automated Biometric Identity System.

“I think it’s probably wise to assume that the Taliban have got their hands on everything that the Afghan government had a couple of weeks ago, which was a lot of information on people,” said Mr Dooley.

The 2019 Afghan election, for example, used voter verification machines with fingerprint, eye and facial recognition capabilities in a bid to curb election fraud.

Access Now also estimates that there may be several other digital identity systems using biometrics held by humanitarian organisations like the UN and World Food Programme.

Many of these international groups are now racing to do what they can to secure the data they have gathered.

Carolyn Tackett, deputy advocacy director at Access Now told Sky News:

“For humanitarian agencies like the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the World Food Program (WFP) that have embedded biometrics into their service delivery, they are now facing difficult decisions about how to minimise data records and access points that put people in danger, while also trying to maintain their programmes in support of millions in Afghanistan facing displacement, food insecurity, poverty, and more.”

And while Ms Tackett does not have evidence of international organisations’ databases being compromised, she said “time is of the essence” when it comes to securing data.

“It is standard form around the world for host governments to require access to [international organisations’] databases for purposes of migration, law enforcement, and more,” she said.

“And it is likely only a matter of time before the Taliban present them with the same ultimatum.”

Social media

Since 10 August, many Afghans have scrambled to eliminate traces of their previous lives on social media for fear of retribution by the Taliban.

This includes the thousands of people who either worked directly with foreign forces as interpreters or worked in adjacent organisations in the years since US forces entered the country.

Abdul worked as a contractor for a Western security firm. His name has been changed to protect his identity.

He told Sky News that on the first day the Taliban took over he deleted everything from his Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. He deleted his LinkedIn in the following days.

He’s concerned that his connection to a Western company may make him a target of the Taliban.

“I deleted everything belonging to my career – even my birthday wishes from expats, who were mostly UK citizens,” he said.

He told Sky News he felt “scared, shameful and disgraced” to have to do it.

“It was against the commitments I made to my friends,” he said.

It’s a feeling shared by many Afghans who have had to erase evidence of their accomplishments for fear of reprisals.

Fatimah Hossaini, a journalist and women’s activist, shared an image of herself and three other female Afghan colleagues deleting their digital history in the days following the Taliban’s capture of Kabul.

She posted: “The last days in Kabul while we, four friends, Afghan women journalists were hiding ourselves in d house. we were deleting our posts & profiles & whatever we achieved over past two decades. Taliban fighters were outside & patrolling d area. Feeling broken & traumatized.”

She has since fled the country.

But not everyone may want to – or be able to – erase their online identity.

“For some people, it’s a horrible dilemma. Their ticket out is to be able to prove that they have some relationship with American forces or British forces, for example. If they delete that, it might be more dangerous for them,” said Brian Dooley.

Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn have all rolled out tools to limit who can see Afghan users’ profiles and connections.

Information held by businesses

While information online can be erased at the click of a button, sensitive documents stored in offices throughout Afghanistan are far harder to destroy.

The speed the Taliban captured Kabul means many did not have time to eliminate evidence which – in the eyes of the Taliban – incriminates them.

Abdul was in his office on the day that the group descended on Kabul.

But on hearing the news he left, terrified.

His personal profile on the office admin files were left behind, as well as the duty roster with employees’ names on them.

“Every moment I think about it and what happens to me if they find me. It’s hard to imagine how cruel they are,” he said.

It follows the discovery by a journalist of CVs and job applications strewn on the ground outside the British Embassy in Kabul, with names and identifying information clearly visible.

Others have raised concerns about the possibility of the Taliban accessing call logs and location records of individuals, which are stored by telecoms companies.

While the risk posed by this information falling into the wrong hands is serious, experts estimate that there is still some time for some organisations to stop the Taliban gaining access.

“They’ve got their hands full by imposing their authority on a country. I suspect that large-scale tech detection is not what they’re going to be doing on day four or five. But maybe week four or five,” said Mr Dooley.

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World

Israel resumes airdrops into Gaza – as baby girl dies weighing less than when she was born

Published

6 hours ago

July 26, 2025

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Israel resumes airdrops into Gaza - as baby girl dies weighing less than when she was born

Israel has resumed airdrops of aid into Gaza, as reports and condemnation of starvation and famine continue to spread.

In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces added that humanitarian corridors would also be established for United Nations convoys to deliver aid into the region, though it did not say when or where.

While the IDF “emphasises that combat operations have not ceased” – and reiterated claims there is “no starvation” in Gaza – it said: “The airdrops will include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar and canned food to be provided by international organisations.”

The military added that it is prepared to implement “humanitarian pauses” in densely populated areas.

Reports suggest aid has already been dropped into Gaza, with some injured after fighting broke out.

In other developments, Bob Geldof has accused Israeli authorities of “lying” about starvation in the territory – telling Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that the IDF is “dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers”.

He told Sky News: “This month, up to now, 1,000 children or 1,000 people have died of starvation. I’m really not interested in what either of these sides are saying.”

Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza from the start of March. It then reopened it with new restrictions in May, but said the supply had to be controlled to prevent it from being stolen by Hamas militants.

On Saturday, reports referencing US government data said that there was no evidence Hamas had stolen aid from UN agencies.

The IDF’s international spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, described such reports as “fake news” and said Hamas thefts have been “well documented”.

Airdrops ‘expensive and inefficient’

It comes as the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said that, as of Saturday, 127 people have died from malnutrition-related causes, including 85 children.

They include a five-month-old girl who weighed less than when she was born, with a doctor at Nasser Hospital describing it as a case of “severe, severe starvation”.

Health workers have also been weakened by hunger, with some putting themselves on IV drips so they can keep treating badly malnourished patients.

On Friday, Israel said it would allow foreign countries to airdrop aid into Gaza – but the UN Relief and Works Agency has warned this will not reverse “deepening starvation”.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini described the method as “expensive” and “inefficient”, adding: “It is a distraction and screensmoke. A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will.

“Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.”

He added that UNRWA has the equivalent of 6,000 trucks in Jordan and Egypt waiting for permission to enter Gaza.

MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned on Friday that 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished, and said the lack of food and water on the ground was “unconscionable”.

The UN also estimates that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food – the majority near the militarised distribution sites of the US-backed aid distribution scheme run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

In a statement on Friday, the IDF had said it “categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians”, and reports of incidents at aid distribution sites were “under examination”.

The GHF has also previously disputed that these deaths were connected with its organisation’s operations, with director Johnnie Moore telling Sky News: “We just want to feed Gazans. That’s the only thing that we want to do.”

World

Bob Geldof accuses Israeli authorities of ‘lying’ about starvation in Gaza

Published

12 hours ago

July 26, 2025

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Bob Geldof accuses Israeli authorities of 'lying' about starvation in Gaza

Bob Geldof has accused the Israeli authorities of “lying” about starvation in Gaza – after Israel’s government spokesperson claimed there was “no famine caused by Israel”.

Earlier this week, David Mencer claimed that Hamas “starves its own people” while on The News Hour with Mark Austin, denying that Israel was responsible for mass hunger in Gaza.

Appearing on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Geldof said the claims are false.

Follow latest: Gaza aid airdrops a ‘smokescreen’ and ‘distraction’, says UN agency chief

Mr Phillips asked the Live Aid organiser: “The Israeli view is that there is no famine caused by Israel, there’s a manmade shortage, but it’s been engineered by Hamas.

“I guess the Israelis would say we don’t see much criticism from your side of Hamas.”

In response, Geldof said “that’s a false equivalence” and “the Israeli authorities are lying”.

The singer then added: “They’re lying. [Benjamin] Netanyahu lies, is a liar. The IDF are lying. They’re dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers.

“And while they arrive to accept the tiny amount of food that this sort of set up pantomime outfit, the Gaza Humanitarian Front, I would call it, as they dangle it, then they’re shot wantonly.

“This month, up to now, a thousand children or a thousand people have died of starvation. I’m really not interested in what either of these sides are saying.”

In the interview with Mark Austin on 23 July, Mr Mencer added: “This suffering exists because Hamas made it so. Here are the facts. Aid is flowing, through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Millions of meals are being delivered directly to civilians.” He also claimed that since May more than 4,400 aid trucks had entered Gaza carrying supplies.

It comes after MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished.

The charity said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels, and said that at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks.

MSF then called the lack of food and water on the ground as “unconscionable”.

In a statement to Sky News, an Israeli security official said that “despite the false claims that are being spread, the State of Israel does not limit the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip”.

It then blamed other groups for issues delivering aid. They said: “Over the past month, we have witnessed a significant decline in the collection of aid from the crossings into the Gaza Strip by international aid organisations.

“The delays in collection by the UN and international organisations harm the situation and the food security of Gaza’s residents.”

The IDF also told Sky News: “The IDF allows the American civilian organisation (GHF) to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip.

“Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned.

“The aforementioned incidents are under review by the competent authorities in the IDF.”

You can watch the full interview on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips at 8.30am tomorrow.

World

25% of young children and pregnant women malnourished in Gaza, charity says, as PM vows to fly critical medical cases to UK

Published

1 day ago

July 26, 2025

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25% of young children and pregnant women malnourished in Gaza, charity says, as PM vows to fly critical medical cases to UK

A charity has warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished, with Sir Keir Starmer vowing to evacuate children who need “critical medical assistance” to the UK.

MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels – with patients and healthcare workers both fighting to survive.

It claimed that, at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks – and described the lack of food and water on the ground as “unconscionable”.

The charity also criticised the high number of fatalities seen at aid distribution sites, with one British surgeon accusing IDF soldiers of shooting civilians “almost like a game of target practice”.

MSF’s deputy medical coordinator in Gaza, Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, said: “Those who go to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s food distributions know that they have the same chance of receiving a sack of flour as they do of leaving with a bullet in their head.”

Israel says it has let enough food into Gaza and has accused the UN of failing to distribute it, in what the foreign ministry has labelled as “a deliberate ploy” to defame the country.

‘Humanitarian catastrophe must end’

In a video message posted on X late last night, Sir Keir Starmer condemned the scenes in Gaza as “appalling” and “unrelenting” – and said “the images of starvation and desperation are utterly horrifying”.

The prime minister added: “The denial of aid to children and babies is completely unjustifiable, just as the continued captivity of hostages is completely unjustifiable.

“Hundreds of civilians have been killed while seeking aid – children, killed, whilst collecting water. It is a humanitarian catastrophe, and it must end.”

Sir Keir confirmed that the British government is now “accelerating efforts” to evacuate children from Gaza who need critical medical assistance, so they can be brought to the UK for specialist treatment.

Israel has now said that foreign countries will be able to airdrop aid into Gaza. While the PM says the UK will now “do everything we can” to get supplies in via this route, he said this decision has come “far too late”.

Last year, the RAF dropped aid into Gaza, but humanitarian organisations warned it wasn’t enough and was potentially dangerous. In March 2024, five people were killed when an aid parachute failed and supplies fell on them.

For now, Sir Keir has rejected calls to follow French President Emmanuel Macron and recognise a Palestinian state – despite more than 220 MPs signing a cross-party letter to demand he takes this step.

The prime minister is instead demanding a ceasefire and “lasting peace” – and says he will only consider an independent state as part of a negotiated peace deal.