The world has not become any safer, according to the annual report published Thursday by the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD). In it, the agency outlines the threats facing the Netherlands.

These are not limited to the risk of attacks by extremists or sabotage by hostile states. The service has also been warning for years about threats to knowledge security.

“In the Netherlands, companies, knowledge institutions, and the government possess specialized knowledge and technology that cannot be found at that level anywhere else in the world,” the AIVD writes. Other countries are interested in that as well.

The report cites quantum technology and semiconductors as examples, both of which can dramatically increase computing power. Universities and universities of applied sciences also possess such sensitive knowledge.

China

The service points in particular to China’s efforts to acquire this knowledge and technology. The country is said to attract Western researchers to bring knowledge in-house. In addition, China deliberately sends students and researchers to the West. They do not necessarily come as spies, but they may be pressured to share the technological knowledge they acquire, according to the AIVD.

The service does not provide details, but says that several attempts to obtain knowledge in the Netherlands were thwarted over the past year.

Other countries are also mentioned in the report as knowledge thieves, including North Korea and Russia. Russian spies are said to use “various covers, such as scientist or journalist.”

Knowledge security

The government has been working since 2022 on a legislative proposal aimed at strengthening knowledge security in higher education. Master’s students and researchers will soon be screened if they want to work in sensitive fields.

Universities have criticized the proposed law. They fear the Netherlands will isolate itself and stifle the international collaboration that science benefits from so much. The costs could also rise significantly, while the screening would mainly create a “false sense of security.”

The screening law has not yet been submitted though. It will not be introduced later this year either, Minister of Education Rianne Letschert told the House of Representatives earlier this month.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.