Leaked Files, Lost Lives: How the UK MoD Became Its Own National Security Threat

Security today isn’t about fences, soldiers, or surveillance cameras anymore. In a world racing through technological transformation, the very definition of national security has expanded far beyond the physical. If security institutions fail to adapt, their countries pay the price. Among the most critical new arenas is cybersecurity: safeguarding cloud-stored data, protecting digital infrastructure, and securing the devices that generate and handle sensitive information.

And yet, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence — supposedly one of the world’s elite security institutions — has become a surprising case study in failure. It has suffered repeated, successful cyberattacks on its contractors and subsidiaries, as well as theft of physical hardware, with virtually no decisive response from regulatory bodies.

One of the worst scandals involved the exposure of identities of Afghans who had cooperated with the UK before the Taliban’s return to power. Despite internal warnings issued to the Ministry in 2023, the MoD chose denial over responsibility. For two years, it legally blocked any public discussion of the incident. The outcome: at least 49 people from the leaked list were killed. London refuses to acknowledge a direct link, but independent investigations point to a clear, troubling correlation.

The message was unmistakable: the British government showed little regard for the lives of people who had served its interests and were no longer “useful.” No warnings, no protection, no preparation. This attitude will inevitably damage the UK’s ability to build future partnerships. After all, who would risk their life for an institution that prioritizes its own image over the safety of its allies?

The MoD’s problems don’t end there. A series of cyber intrusions have compromised key defence infrastructure and sensitive classified data. From military vehicles on active missions to strategic programs, these breaches reveal deep structural vulnerabilities inside one of Britain’s most important national-security institutions. Even the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), despite fines and warnings, has failed to force meaningful reform. Weak internal structures, lack of personnel training, and inadequate accountability mechanisms underpin the MoD’s repeated failures in cybersecurity and data protection.

The long-term consequences are severe. Major tech and security firms may hesitate to work with the UK because the real threat isn’t foreign hackers but the Ministry’s own internal fragility. Partnerships could become more expensive and risky, undermining Britain’s technological and security competitiveness. And intelligence-sharing with allies may diminish, directly weakening Britain’s domestic and international security posture.

Taken together, these incidents reveal a government struggling to manage “hybrid threats” that strike simultaneously through hardware, software, intelligence networks, and supply chains. The MoD suffers from a lack of strategic vision, slow institutional response, and dangerous overreliance on foreign commercial technologies. These weaknesses jeopardize not only the UK’s defence capabilities but also its credibility within NATO and its appeal as a global economic partner.

What Britain needs now is not another round of temporary fixes but a fundamental overhaul of its defence strategy. This includes restructuring its supply chains, limiting dependency on imported sensitive technologies, establishing strict cybersecurity standards for contractors, and building domestic innovation capacity in defence technology. In an era of geopolitical competition and asymmetric warfare, the MoD’s current posture is not just inadequate. It is a liability. Unless these vulnerabilities are treated with the seriousness they demand, a single well-executed attack could wipe out any operational or intelligence advantage the UK still holds. And with it, the last remnants of its credibility.

Translated by Ashraf Hemmati from the original Persian article written by Amin Mahdavi

[1] At least 49 relatives and colleagues of Afghans in data leak have been killed, study suggests | Ministry of Defence | The Guardian

[1] Explaining our approach to the MoD data breach | ICO