Russia intensifying hybrid attacks against Europe, Dutch intelligence says

Russia is stepping up its hybrid attacks aimed at the Netherlands and its European allies, the Dutch military intelligence agency MIVD said on April 22.

The news follows multiple reports of damaged undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, arson and sabotage attacks across Europe, and other incidents seen as possible Russian hybrid operations.

“We see that the Russian threat against Europe is increasing, including after a possible end of the war against Ukraine,” MIVD director Peter Reesink said in the agency’s annual report.

Russian hackers have also targeted an unspecified Dutch public service for the first time, according to Reesink.

“In the Netherlands, we saw the first (Russian) cyberattack against a public service, which was designed to take over the system. The attack was thwarted, but it was the first such case,” he added.

The Dutch Interior Ministry said it first detected a Russian cyberattack on the public service’s digital operating system last year. The ministry also reported that it had recorded a Russian cyber operation against critical infrastructure in the Netherlands, possibly in preparation for sabotage.

Dutch authorities described Russian interference as a combination of traditional acts of espionage, cyberattacks, and other attempts to influence society.

The Dutch government also reiterated warnings about espionage by Russian entities mapping infrastructure in the North Sea and acts of sabotage aimed at Internet cables, water, and energy supplies.

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Intelligence officials in the U.S. and Europe have suggested that recent incidents damaging critical cables in the Baltic Sea were accidental, according to a Washington Post report. Western geostrategic self-deception has overly emphasized fears of escalation and cornering Russia. It would be naïve to assume that the repeated cutting

The Kyiv IndependentMika Aaltola