Algemene Inlichtingen en Veiligheidsdienst
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The General Intelligence and Security Service ( nl, Algemene Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst, AIVD; ) is the intelligence and security agency of the Netherlands, tasked with domestic, foreign and
signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...
and protecting
national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
.


History

The history of Dutch intelligence can trace itself back to 1914 with the creation of the Generale Staf III (GS III) during the outbreak of World War I. The year following the end of the war, GS III was replaced by the Centrale Inlichtingendienst (CI) in 1919. After Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands, the
Dutch government-in-exile The Dutch government-in-exile ( nl, Nederlandse regering in ballingschap), also known as the London Cabinet ( nl, Londens kabinet), was the government in exile of the Netherlands, supervised by Queen Wilhelmina, that fled to London after the Germ ...
deemed the CI to be inadequate for their war efforts and so created the Bureau Inlichtingen (BI) in 1942. After the war, in 1945, Netherlands replaced the Bureau of National Security ('' Bureau voor Nationale Veiligheid'') and in 1947, was later known as the Domestic Security Service (''Binnenlandse Veiligheidsdienst'') (BVD) which would be the predecessor of the AIVD. For the gathering of intelligence abroad, the Foreign Intelligence Service — ''Buitenlandse Inlichtingendienst'' (BID), renamed to ''Inlichtingendienst Buitenland'' (IDB) in 1972 — had existed since 1946. This service was located in
Villa Maarheeze Villa Maarheeze was home of the Dutch foreign intelligence service '' Inlichtingendienst Buitenland'', a service that existed from the end of World War II to 1994. The villa is located in the city of Wassenaar, at ''Rijksstraatweg 675'', but is n ...
in Wassenaar, just north of The Hague. IDB was dissolved in 1994 after heavy internal turmoil. The foreign intelligence task was eventually handed over to the BVD, which in doing so turned into a combined intelligence and security service. For this reason, it was rebranded ''Algemene Inlichtingen en Veiligheidsdienst'' (AIVD) on 29 May 2002.


Mission

The AIVD focuses mostly on domestic non-military threats to Dutch
national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
, whereas the Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) focuses on international threats, specifically military and government-sponsored threats such as espionage. The AIVD is charged with collecting intelligence and assisting in combating domestic and foreign threats to national security.


List of directors-general


Oversight and accountability

The
Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations The Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations ( nl, Minister van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties) is the head of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and a member of the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers. The in ...
is politically responsible for the AIVD's actions. Oversight is provided by three bodies: * A review board for the use of special powers by intelligence and security services (Dutch: ''Toetsingscommissie Inzet Bevoegdheden'', TIB) appointed by the
Second Chamber Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
of the States General. * An oversight committee (Dutch: ''Commissie van Toezicht op de Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdiensten'', CTIVD) also appointed by the
Second Chamber Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
of the States General. * The Committee for the Intelligence and Security Services (Dutch: ''Commissie voor de Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdiensten'', CIVD), comprising the leaders of all political parties represented in the
Second Chamber Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
of the States General, although until 2009 the Socialist Party (SP) was not and did not want to be part of this committee. The AIVD publishes an annual report which includes its budget. The published version contains redactions where information is deemed sensitive. The AIVD can be forced by the courts to publish any records held on a private citizen, but it may keep secret information that is relevant to current cases. No information that is less than five years old will be provided under any circumstance to private citizens about their records.


Activities

Its main activities include: * monitoring specific people and groups of people, such as political extremists and religious extremists * sourcing intelligence to and from foreign and domestic intelligence services * performing background checks on individuals employed in "positions of trust," specifically public office and higher-up or privileged positions in industry (such as telecommunications, banks, and the largest companies)this includes members of parliamentary oversight committees * investigating incidents such as terrorist bombings and threats * giving advice and warning about risks to national security, including advising on the protection of national leadership * Netherlands National Communications Security Agency, advising on communication security for government users


Methods and authorities

Its methods and authorities include: * telephone and internet taps authorized by the minister of internal affairs (as opposed to a court order) *
infiltration Infiltration may refer to: Science, medicine, and engineering *Infiltration (hydrology), downward movement of water into soil *Infiltration (HVAC), a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning term for air leakage into buildings *Infiltration (me ...
(rarely by employees of the service, but rather by outsiders who would have easy access to a particular group) * the use of informants (existing members of groups that are recruited) * open sources intelligence * unfettered access to police intelligence * the use of foreign intelligence service liaisons who reside in the Netherlands under a diplomatic status (including full diplomatic immunity) to collect intelligence in excess of the AIVD's authority The latter is technically the same as sourcing intelligence from a foreign intelligence service; this method has not been confirmed. The AIVD operates in tight concert with the Regional Intelligence Service (Regionale Inlichtingen Dienst, RID), to which members of the police are appointed in every police district. It also co-operates with over one hundred intelligence services.


Criticism

The service has been criticized for: * Soon after the arrest of the Dutch businessman Frans van Anraat, who has been convicted of complicity in war crimes for selling raw materials for the production of chemical weapons to Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussein, Dutch newspapers reported that van Anraat had been an informer of the Dutch secret service AIVD and has enjoyed AIVD's protection. * letting go of
Abdul Qadeer Khan Abdul Qadeer Khan, (; ur, ; 1 April 1936 – 10 October 2021), known as A. Q. Khan, was a Pakistani nuclear physicist and metallurgical engineer. He was a key figure in Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program and is colloquially known as the ...
, who stole Dutch nuclear knowledge and used it for Pakistan to produce its
nuclear bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
. However, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands Ruud Lubbers claimed in 2005 that this was done on a foreign request. * not having enough focus and intelligence on Islamist groups, particularly following the
September 11, 2001, attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
and the murder of Theo van Gogh by Mohammed Bouyeri, a member of the
Hofstad Network The Hofstad Network was an Islamist terror group composed mostly of Dutch citizens. The terror group was composed mainly of young men between the ages of 18 and 32. The name "Hofstad" was originally the codename the Dutch secret service AIVD used ...
of
Islamist terrorism Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism) refers to terrorist acts with religious motivations carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists. Incidents and fatalities fr ...
* not having enough focus and intelligence on political violence or environmental groups, particularly following the murder of Pim Fortuyn by an environmental radical * delivering hand grenades to members of the
Hofstadgroep The Hofstad Network was an Islamist terror group composed mostly of Dutch citizens. The terror group was composed mainly of young men between the ages of 18 and 32. The name "Hofstad" was originally the codename the Dutch secret service AIVD used ...
through alleged informer Saleh Bouali * investigating family members of the Queen that had had a family rift ( Princess Margarita and ), though this was not ordered by the minister of internal affairs, but rather by the Queen's office * losing a laptop and a floppy disk with classified information from a regional office of the AIVD. The disk was found by an employee of a car rental agency, and subsequently given to Dutch crime-journalist
Peter R. de Vries Peter Rudolf de Vries (14 November 1956 – 15 July 2021) was a Dutch investigative journalist and crime reporter. His television program (''Crime Reporter''; 1995−2012) covered high-profile cases and set a Dutch television viewing record. F ...
. Information on the disks indicated that the service collected information on Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn and members of his party, as well as on left-wing activists. Among other things, the documents accuse Pim Fortuyn of having sex with underage Moroccan boys. During the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
the BVD had a reputation for interviewing potential employers of persons they deemed suspicious for any reason, thereby worrying corporations about the employment of these persons. Reasons for being suspect included leftist ideals, membership of the Communist Party, or a spotty military record (such as being a
conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
with regard to
conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
), although no evidence of the latter has ever been produced.


Cozy Bear

On January 25, 2018, ''
de Volkskrant ''de Volkskrant'' (; ''The People's Paper'') is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium-sized c ...
'' and TV program '' Nieuwsuur'' reported that in 2014, the AIVD successfully infiltrated the computers of Cozy Bear and observed the hacking of the head office of the
Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
and subsequently the White House, as well as being the first to alert the National Security Agency (NSA) about the cyber-intrusion.Dutch intelligence first to alert U.S. about Russian hack of Democratic Party
/ref>


In popular culture

''
In the Lair of the Cozy Bear IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independ ...
'' is a translation of the Dutch novel ''
In het hol van de Cozy Bear IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Indepe ...
'' that relates the story of the infiltration of Cozy Bear told from the perspective of an American liaison officer attached to the AIVD.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:General Intelligence and Security Service 2002 establishments in the Netherlands Government agencies established in 2002 Dutch intelligence agencies Domestic intelligence agencies National cyber security centres Cyberwarfare Non-military counterterrorist organizations Cold War military history of the Netherlands Organizations associated with Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections Organisations based in South Holland Zoetermeer