In February 2022, a massive **Ministry of Defence (MoD) data breach** exposed the personal details of up to **100,000 Afghans** who had collaborated with UK forces, placing them at severe risk of Taliban retaliation. The leak triggered **Operation Rubific**, a covert £7bn evacuation scheme that relocated **16,000 Afghans to the UK**, with another **8,000 pending relocation**. The breach was concealed under an **unprecedented super-injunction** for nearly two years, hiding the operation from Parliament, the public, and even MPs. The exposed individuals—including interpreters, contractors, and allies—faced **direct threats to their lives**, forcing an emergency, large-scale extraction under classified conditions. The secrecy surrounding the breach and evacuation raised significant ethical and transparency concerns, as ministers **deliberately misled Parliament** about the true reasons for the mission. The incident underscored critical failures in **data protection, crisis response, and governmental accountability**, with life-or-death consequences for those affected.
Source: https://www.aol.com/news/watch-live-independent-holly-bancroft-105153483.html
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/uk-ministry-of-defence
"id": "uk-2203522110625",
"linkid": "uk-ministry-of-defence",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "2/2022",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "7",
"explanation": "Attack that could injure or kill people"{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Up to 100,000 Afghans',
'industry': 'Defence/Military',
'location': 'United Kingdom',
'name': 'UK Ministry of Defence (MoD)',
'type': 'Government Agency'}],
'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'Yes (Leaked to Unauthorized Parties)',
'number_of_records_exposed': 'Up to 100,000',
'personally_identifiable_information': ['Names',
'Links to UK Forces',
'Location Data '
'(Afghanistan)'],
'sensitivity_of_data': 'Extremely High (Life-Threatening '
'Risk)',
'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personal Identifiable '
'Information (PII)',
'Military Affiliation Data',
'Evacuation Requests']},
'date_detected': '2022-02',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2024-11-04',
'description': 'A massive data breach at the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in '
'February 2022 exposed the personal details of up to 100,000 '
'Afghans linked to UK forces, putting their lives at risk from '
'the Taliban. The breach triggered a covert £7bn evacuation '
'scheme (Operation Rubific), relocating 16,000 Afghans to the '
'UK under a super-injunction that concealed the operation from '
'MPs and the public for nearly two years.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': ['Loss of Public Trust in MoD',
'Criticism of Government Transparency',
'Media Scrutiny'],
'data_compromised': ['Personal Identifiable Information (PII) of '
'Afghans',
'Links to UK Forces',
'Evacuation Eligibility Data'],
'identity_theft_risk': ['High (for exposed Afghans)'],
'legal_liabilities': ['Potential Violations of Data Protection '
'Laws',
'Super-Injunction Controversy'],
'operational_impact': ['Covert Evacuation Operation (Operation '
'Rubific)',
'Super-Injunction Enforcement',
'Parliamentary Secrecy']},
'investigation_status': 'Ongoing (Parliamentary Scrutiny)',
'lessons_learned': ['Critical risks of data mishandling in high-stakes '
'contexts',
'Ethical dilemmas of secrecy vs. transparency',
'Need for robust PII protection in military operations'],
'motivation': ['Espionage (potential)',
'Human Error (likely)',
'Taliban Targeting (indirect)'],
'post_incident_analysis': {'corrective_actions': ['Operation Rubific '
'(Mitigation via '
'Evacuation)',
'Pending Policy Reforms'],
'root_causes': ['Human Error (Likely)',
'Inadequate Data Protection '
'Measures',
'Lack of Oversight for High-Risk '
'Data']},
'recommendations': ['Independent review of MoD data security protocols',
'Transparency in national security-related breaches '
'(where feasible)',
'Enhanced protection for at-risk individuals in conflict '
'zones',
'Reevaluation of super-injunction use in public interest '
'cases'],
'references': [{'date_accessed': '2024-11-04', 'source': 'The Independent'},
{'date_accessed': '2024-11-04',
'source': 'UK Parliament Defence Committee Hearing'},
{'source': 'The Times (Larisa Brown)'},
{'source': 'Daily Mail (Sam Greenhill)'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'legal_actions': ['Super-Injunction (Controversial)',
'Potential Investigations'],
'regulations_violated': ['Potential GDPR/UK Data '
'Protection Act Violations',
'Parliamentary '
'Transparency Rules'],
'regulatory_notifications': ['Delayed/Withheld from '
'Public and MPs']},
'response': {'communication_strategy': ['Media Blackout',
'Parliamentary Obfuscation'],
'containment_measures': ['Secrecy via Super-Injunction',
'Limited Disclosure to Parliament'],
'incident_response_plan_activated': ['Operation Rubific (Covert '
'Evacuation)',
'Super-Injunction'],
'remediation_measures': ['Evacuation of 16,000 Afghans (8,000 '
'pending)']},
'stakeholder_advisories': ['Defence Committee Briefings',
'Media Testimonies (Holly Bancroft, Larisa Brown, '
'Sam Greenhill)'],
'title': 'Ministry of Defence Afghan Data Breach (2022)',
'type': ['Data Breach',
'Unauthorized Disclosure',
'National Security Incident']}