The Dutch Temporary Cyber Act

Discussion Prompt: The Dutch Temporary Cyber Act: Necessary measure or disproportionate expansion of power?

The Dutch intelligence and security agencies claim to lack the ability for an appropriate use of capabilities to perform the needed research to gain sufficient insight in intentions, capacity and next steps of foreign actors with an offensive cyber agenda against the Netherlands or Dutch interests. Main problems that are named are a lack of speed, argued to lie in the oversight system, and the “as targeted as possible” criterion in cable interception. A new proposal for a Temporary Act should address this problem as an urgent measure during a new reform of the main intelligence Act. Experts have different views on the legislative process as well as the content of the Act. Opinions differ whether the proposed measures are necessary, proportionate, adequate/efficient, and whether they would hold in the views of the European Courts.

As part of the consideration of the bill in the Dutch Parliament, several experts gave their views in a hearing. Interestingly, the different perspectives led to very diverse positions. About:intel asked them to write a contribution.

Cyber defence operations require a dedicated legal framework

The proposed Cyber Act obfuscates the specific needs and methods of cyber defence operations.

by Peter Koop

Peter Koop studied law in Amsterdam and from a lifelong interest in signals intelligence, cryptography and communications security, he became an independent researcher sharing his findings on the weblog Electrospaces.net, in other publications and through lectures. Koop is a member of the Netherlands Intelligence Studies Association (NISA) and he is one of the few people in the world who systematically and critically studied the documents from the Snowden revelations. He also closely followed the extensive inquiry by the German parliament into the cooperation between the NSA and the BND and studied a similar cooperation in Denmark. This allows Koop to bring detailed insights from multiple countries into the debate about the Dutch Intelligence and Security Services Act (Wiv), which started with a unique referendum in 2018 and is still ongoing.

Stalemates in Dutch intelligence oversight

How optimizing the digital capabilities of the Dutch intelligence and security services has derailed.

by Bart JacobsProfessor of Security, Privacy and Identity at Radboud University

Bart Jacobs is a professor of Security, Privacy and Identity at Radboud University, in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, at the university's interdisciplinary Hub for research on digitalisation and society. He is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences and of the Academia Europaea. Jacobs publishes broadly on computer science and mathematics, but also on law and intelligence. For instance, he is the first to write about the European intelligence cooperation Maximator Jacobs was a member of the committee that reviewed the intelligence law in the Netherlands in 2020. He is a member of the board of experts of the Review Committee on the Intelligence and Security Services (CTIVD).

Obfuscation as a strategy to pass mass surveillance powers

The Dutch government wants to automatically and administratively gain permission to target victims of hackers.

by Lotte HouwingPolicy Advisor & Researcher, Bits of Freedom

Lotte Houwing works as a researcher and policy advisor at Bits of Freedom, a Dutch NGO for internet freedoms. There she leads the government surveillance programme where she focuses on policy regulating the capabilities of the secret services with a strong focus on protections of the rights of privacy and freedom of communication. In this capacity she filed a successful complaint procedure against the unlawful detention of bulk datasets by the Dutch intelligence agencies. She has a special interest in the analysis of power in relationships between government institutions and people. She has a background in philosophy and graduated cum laude from her research master in law on the Dutch Intelligence and Security Services Act 2017 at the University of Groningen. When she finds time she publishes on the use of technlogy by the police. But mostly she will be found in her garden.

The necessity of a new cyberlaw for dutch intelligence and security services 

The proposed Cyber Act addresses the urgent need for stronger intelligence capabilities and revised oversight structures in the Netherlands.

by Jan-Jaap OerlemansEndowed professor in Intelligence and Law at Utrecht University

Prof. dr. J.J. Oerlemans is an endowed professor in Intelligence and Law at Utrecht University. The chair is made available by the Dutch Review Committee on Intelligence and Security Services (CTIVD), where he also works a senior researcher.

NL government wants to abandon key safeguards for hacking of non-targets

The Dutch government wants to automatically and administratively gain permission to target victims of hackers.

by Bert HubertFounder of PowerdDNS and Technical Advisor at the Dutch Electoral Council

Bert is the founder of PowerDNS, software that powers a significant fraction of the Internet. In addition, Bert co-founded a joint-venture with notable security company Fox-IT. In between he spent several years working for the Dutch government on cyber- and national security. After selling both companies, Bert spent 18 months doing DNA research at TU Delft, leading to two publications in major science journals. These days, he focuses on open standards, (EU) tech legislation, decentralized communications, internet measurements & research (mostly DNA and GNSS). In addition he until recently sat on a government board that regulates the Dutch Intelligence and Security agencies. Bert is now a part-time technical advisor at the Dutch Electoral Council ("FEC").