Dutch intelligence services stepped up spying and wiretapping efforts in 2023

Dutch intelligence services AIVD and MIVD used their special clearance more often in 2023, as reported by the Investigatory Powers Commission (TIB) in its annual report. The regulator received 3,383 requests from the services to use these clearances, just under 17 percent more than in 2022.

The services can follow or observe people, use officers, or tap data traffic in their investigations. On most occasions, they need permission from outgoing minister Hugo de Jonge (Interior Affairs), whose decision must then be assessed by the TIB.

The TIB denied 4.4 percent of the requests for special clearances. Half of these requests were approved at a later stage after they were adapted. The TIB would not explain why the security services filed more requests last year due to confidentiality.

It was reported earlier that the civilian intelligence service, AIVD, believes that many threats have surpassed a critical point. At the presentation of the intelligence service's yearly report, CEO Erik Akerboom spoke about increasing threats from jihadists, China, and criminal networks.

The military intelligence service, MIVD, saw increased cyber operations from Russia and its allies which targeted the Netherlands. This is mainly connected to the war in Ukraine.

The commission said tapping internet cables was an "important subject" last year. The regulator received many requests for large-scale internet traffic tapping last year, some of which were denied.

The services use this to collect a large amount of data in the hope of finding the information they seek. There are strict rules regarding this method, as a significant portion of the data is collected from people who are not of interest to the services.