ZOETERMEER, Netherlands — The Dutch nationwide intelligence company painted a grim image Monday of a rising variety of inner and exterior threats to the rule of regulation within the Netherlands compounded by Russia’s warfare in Ukraine, worldwide cyberattacks and espionage.

In its annual report, the General Intelligence and Security Service referred to as China “the biggest threat to the Netherlands’ economic security.”

The company’s director-general, Erik Akerboom, mentioned that China is concentrating on the Netherlands as an revolutionary nation that develops new know-how.

“We see that every day they try to steal that from the Netherlands,” he informed The Associated Press.

“The Chinese use cyber as a weapon, cyber as a way to commit espionage, but they also send people to us - students, but also scientific persons of all kind to especially steal knowledge from very vulnerable places,” he mentioned.

The Netherlands earlier this yr introduced plans to impose further restrictions on the export of machines that make superior processor chips. The Dutch joined a U.S. push that goals to restrict China’s entry to supplies used to make such chips, amid fears they may very well be utilized in weapons, to commit rights abuses or to enhance the pace and accuracy of army logistics.

China has criticized the strikes as violations of market ideas in worldwide commerce.

Akerboom highlighted overlapping threats starting from terrorism, extremism, cyberattacks, espionage, covert affect and sabotage, to organized crime undermining the rule of regulation.

The warfare that erupted when Russia invaded Ukraine final yr exacerbated the scenario. Sanctions on Russian power imports led to a fuel scarcity, feeding into hovering inflation. That in flip led to an uptick in conspiracy theories, amongst different threats.

“As a result, extremist boosters in the Netherlands were once again given the opportunity to spread conspiracy theories about an ‘evil elite’ after the corona crisis. Sometimes countries like Russia use the unrest in the West to secretly stir up contradictions in society,” the report mentioned.

Russia additionally has lengthy been actively attempting to steal secrets and techniques from the Netherlands and different European and NATO allies, the company mentioned. The report highlighted the company’s involvement final yr within the expulsion of 17 Russian diplomats from the Netherlands who have been suspected of espionage, and the unmasking of a Russian agent who tried to infiltrate the Hague-based International Criminal Court.

The company pointed to an enormous cyberattack concentrating on NATO member Albania final yr for example of “the massive threat that now emanates from countries with cyberattack programs, such as China, Russia and Iran.”

Albania lower diplomatic ties with Iran final yr over a July 15 cyberattack that briefly shut down quite a few Albanian authorities digital providers and web sites. Tirana referred to as the disruption an act of “state aggression.”

The service additionally famous that “hatred, anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories spread in the Netherlands” and mentioned it “prevented concrete threats within the Netherlands from becoming reality.”

The threats got here, it mentioned, from “jihadists, right-wing terrorists and people who are extremely hostile to the government.”

The Taliban’s takeover of energy in Afghanistan additionally has ramped up the prevailing menace of jihadi extremists, the report warned. It mentioned that the Islamic State group now working in Afghanistan was “steering” networks elsewhere.

Reacting to the current leak within the United States of extremely categorized army paperwork, Akerboom mentioned the disclosures underscored potential weaknesses in intelligence businesses.

“We cannot exclude that something like that might happen” within the Netherlands, he mentioned. “You cannot guarantee that, but we do everything to prevent this because I think in the end this is a real risk that we should face. I think it might hurt indeed the plans, the strategies that you have. That makes us weaker.”

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