Concerns grow over knowledge espionage at universities

Intelligence service wants adapted regulation to enable faster response to cyberattacks on Dutch infrastructure

The Dutch intelligence service has said that it needs more effective legislation to enable it to respond to cyberattacks aimed at universities and research institutes.

The Netherlands is among the countries most vulnerable to cyber abuse, while its universities are under continuous threat of knowledge theft, according to the annual report from the AIVD, the Dutch intelligence and security service. The report said that threats against computing systems at Dutch universities and research organisations were a “constant risk” but that the AIVD had too little power to respond quickly.