20. January 2026

Wanted: A legal authority for data purchases by German security and intelligence agencies

Germany's lack of regulation on advertisement intelligence…

by Svenja EfingerStudent Assistant, Interface

Svenja Efinger (she/her) is a student assistant at interface's Digital Rights, Surveillance and Democracy programme. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Political Science at the Free University of Berlin. Her research focuses on the intersection of law and politics in the governance of the digital sphere and the resilient institutional design of democracies.

25. March 2025

Intelligence – an extension of diplomacy?

The transatlantic dimension of intelligence cooperation is…

by Mikael LohseChief Specialist and Deputy Intelligence Ombudsman, Office of the Intelligence Ombudsman in Finland

Mikael Lohse is Chief Specialist and Deputy Intelligence Ombudsman at the Office of the Intelligence Ombudsman in Finland. He is Adjunct Professor of Legal Informatics and Intelligence Studies.

26. June 2024

Legal and Oversight Gaps in Germany’s Military Intelligence

As German intelligence law undergoes additional reforms,…

by Corbinian Ruckerbauer

Corbinian Ruckerbauer (he/him) is a policy researcher at interface's Digital Rights, Surveillance and Democracy unit. He coordinates the European Intelligence Oversight Network (EION), which provides a space for regular and structured exchange between European intelligence oversight officials and other experts. He is part of the editorial team of about:intel and was also involved in the conception of intelligence-oversight.org, a tool providing best practices in intelligence oversight for practitioners, academics, journalists and the interested public. His research focuses on the cooperation of public and private actors in the security sector and its impact on civil liberties, the rule of law, and democracy.

16. May 2024

Update on the implications of the Dutch Temporary Cyber Operations Act

New Dutch law grants intelligence services expanded powers…

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.

30. April 2024

Why and how German judicial intelligence oversight needs empowerment

A new statutory framework for the Independent Control…

by Hannah Aeterna BornePhD Researcher in International Relations, SCRIPTS

Hannah is a doctoral researcher at the Berlin Graduate School for Global and Transregional Studies linked to the Cluster of Excellence 'Contestations of the Liberal Script' (SCRIPTS) where she analyzes the use of satellite technology in international conflict. Her research interests encompass international security, surveillance technologies, and international politics of human rights.

27. June 2023

Cyber defence operations require a dedicated legal framework

The proposed Cyber Act obfuscates the specific needs and…

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.

27. June 2023

Stalemates in Dutch intelligence oversight

How optimizing the digital capabilities of the Dutch…

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).

13. June 2023

Obfuscation as a strategy to pass mass surveillance powers

The Dutch government wants to automatically and…

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 technology by the police. But mostly she will be found in her garden.

8. June 2023

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

The proposed Cyber Act addresses the urgent need for…

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.

30. May 2023

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

The Dutch government wants to automatically and…

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").