British soldier ignored order to pull his SIM card, then got blackmailed

An Estonian newspaper recently revealed that a British soldier disobeyed a direct order to remove the SIM card from his cellphone before being deployed to a part of Estonia, approximately 90 miles west of the Russian border.

As a result of his refusal to engage in this element of operational security (opsec), the soldier, Daniel Barton-Kennedy, had his phone hacked, and nude photos of himself were stolen and used as blackmail against him.

Eventually, Barton-Kennedy was court-martialed for disobeying a lawful command, pled guilty, was reduced in rank, and ordered to serve 10 months in detention.

According to a 21-page British appeals court document shared with Ars Technica by Eesti Ekspress, the Estonian newspaper that first reported on this saga, the story begins in January 2026.

At the time, Barton-Kennedy was a corporal, with over seven years of service, serving in the 1st Battalion of the Duke of Lancaster Regiment of the British Army.

His unit was deployed to participate in “Exercise Eastern Warrior” in Tapa, Estonia, roughly halfway between Tallinn, the capital city, and the Estonia-Russia border.

While in the United Kingdom, on January 7, Barton-Kennedy, along with other members of his unit, were briefed on their orders and given specific instructions to “remove SIM cards and switch off location settings and to use a trusted virtual private network on all personal electronic devices.”

Once the unit arrived in Estonia, days later, they were given further briefings and reminders of this policy. Despite this, Barton-Kennedy ignored the instruction.