Google Temporarily Locks Afghan Government E-mail Over Fears Of Taliban Retaliation

JAKARTA - Google has temporarily locked an unspecified number of Afghan government email accounts. This was done because of concerns over the digital footprint left by former officials and their international partners.

In the weeks since the Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan from the US-backed government, reports have highlighted how Afghanistan's biometric and payroll databases could be exploited by the new rulers to hunt down their enemies.

In a statement on Friday, September 3, Alphabet Inc's Google stopped short of confirming that Afghan government accounts were locked. They, said that the company was monitoring the situation in Afghanistan and "taking interim measures to secure the relevant accounts."

An employee from the former government told Reuters the Taliban were trying to get hold of the former official's emails.

Late last month, the employee said that the Taliban had asked him to keep the data stored on the servers of the ministry where he worked.

"If I do, then they will get access to official data and communications from the previous ministry leadership," the employee said.

The employee said he disobeyed and has since been in hiding. Reuters did not identify the man or his former ministry out of concern for his safety.

Publicly available mail exchange records show that about two dozen Afghan government agencies use Google servers to handle official email, including the ministries of finance, industry, higher education, and mining.

The Afghan presidential protocol office also uses Google, the records show, as do some local government agencies.

Mastering government data and email that can provide information about previous government employees, former ministers, government contractors, tribal allies, and foreign partners.

"This will provide a lot of tangible information," said Chad Anderson, a security researcher with internet intelligence firm DomainTools who helped Reuters identify which ministry was running which email platform.

"Even just having a list of employees on a Google Sheet is a big deal," he said, citing reports of retaliation against government employees.

Mail exchange records show that Microsoft Corp's email service is also used by several Afghan government agencies, including the foreign ministry and the presidency. But it's unclear what steps, if any, software companies are taking to prevent data from falling into the hands of the Taliban.

Microsoft itself declined to comment.

Anderson said the Taliban's efforts to control US-made digital infrastructure deserve attention. The intelligence gleaned from that infrastructure, he said, "may be of much more value to a fledgling government than an old helicopter."