Google has temporarily shut down an unspecified number of Afghan government email accounts, according to a person familiar with the matter, as fears grow over the digital paper trail left by former officials and their international partners.
In the weeks since the Taliban swiftly took over Afghanistan from the US-backed government, reports have shed light on how biometrics and Afghan payrolls could be exploited by new rulers to hunt down their enemies.
In a statement on Friday, Alphabet Inc.’s Google declined to confirm that the Afghan government’s accounts were being closed, saying the company was monitoring the situation in Afghanistan and “seeking to secure relevant accounts”. was taking temporary action for
A former government employee has told Reuters that the Taliban is trying to obtain emails from former officials.
Late last month the employee said the Taliban had asked him to preserve data held on the servers of the ministry he worked for.
“If I do this, they will have access to data and official communications from the previous ministry leadership,” the employee said.
The employee said he did not comply and has since gone into hiding. Reuters is not identifying the man or his former ministry because of concerns for his safety.
Publicly available mail exchanger records show that some two dozen Afghan government bodies used Google’s servers to handle official email, including the ministries of finance, industry, higher education and mines. The Office of Protocol to the President of Afghanistan also used Google, according to records, like some local government bodies.
Command of government databases and emails can provide information about former administration employees, former ministers, government contractors, tribal allies and foreign partners.
“It will give a real wealth of information,” said Chad Anderson, a security researcher at Internet intelligence firm DomainTools, which helped Reuters identify which ministries run which email platforms. He also cited reports of retaliation against government employees. “Even listing employees on Google Sheets is a big problem,” he cites.
Mail exchanger records show that Microsoft Corp’s email services were also used by several Afghan government agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the presidency. But it is not clear what steps, if any, the software firm is taking to prevent the data from falling into the hands of the Taliban.
Microsoft declined to comment.
Anderson said the Taliban’s attempt to control the digital infrastructure built by the US is worth keeping an eye on. The intelligence gathered from that infrastructure, he said, “could be far more valuable to a new government than older helicopters.”
Source: Reuters
