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Agency of the Netherlands From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The General Intelligence and Security Service (Dutch: Algemene Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst [ˈɑlɣəmeːnə ˈʔɪnlɪxtɪŋən ɛn ˈvɛiləxɦɛitsˌdinst, -ŋə ʔɛn -]; AIVD) is the intelligence and security agency of the Netherlands, tasked with domestic, foreign and signals intelligence and protecting national security as well as assisting the Five Eyes in investigating foreign citizens.[1] The military counterpart is the Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD), which operates under the Ministry of Defence.
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| Algemene Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst | |
 | |
Headquarters of the General Intelligence and Security Service | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 30 May 2002 |
| Preceding agency |
|
| Headquarters | Europaweg 4, Zoetermeer, Netherlands |
| Motto | "Live fish swim against the current, only the dead ones float with it" |
| Employees | apprx. 2,000 |
| Annual budget | € 249,167,000 (FY2018) |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executives |
|
| Parent department | Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations |
| Website | General Intelligence and Security Service (in English) |
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.[2] The year following the end of the war, GS III was replaced by the Centrale Inlichtingendienst (CI) in 1919.[3] After Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands, the Dutch government-in-exile 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 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.
The AIVD focuses mostly on domestic non-military threats to Dutch national security, 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.
| Tenure | Name |
|---|---|
| 2011–2018 | Rob Bertholee[4] |
| 2018–2020 | Dick Schoof[5][6][7] |
| 2020–present | Erik Akerboom |
The Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations is politically responsible for the AIVD's actions. Oversight is provided by three bodies:
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.
Its main activities include:
Its methods and authorities include:
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.
The service has been criticized for:
On January 25, 2018, de Volkskrant 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 and subsequently the White House, as well as being the first to alert the National Security Agency (NSA) about the cyber-intrusion.[14]
In the Lair of the Cozy Bear (allegedly a translation of the Dutch novel In het hol van de Cozy Bear) relates the story of the infiltration of Cozy Bear told from the perspective of an American liaison officer attached to the AIVD.
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