Russian hackers 'targeted Dutch public facility'
Russian hackers targeted a
Dutch
public facility last year in the first such an attack on the lowlands country's infrastructure, its military intelligence services said on Monday.
The
Netherlands
remained an "interesting target country" for Moscow due to its ongoing support for
Ukraine
, its Hague-based international organisations, high-tech industries, and harbours such as Rotterdam, the Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) said in its yearly report.
Last year, the MIVD "saw a Russian hacker group carry out a cyber attack against the digital control system of a public facility in the Netherlands", the agency's director said in the 52-page report.
"As far as known, this is the first time that such a sabotage attack has been carried out against such a digital control system in the Netherlands," Vice-Admiral Peter Reesink said.
The MIVD did not name the public facility adding "ultimately the attack caused no damage".
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It warned that various Russian units were mapping the infrastructure of the North Sea and were carrying out underwater activities that "indicated espionage and preparatory actions for disruptions and sabotage".
"Think, for example, of internet cables, drinking water and energy supplies," Reesink said.
A former Dutch defence minister already warned in 2018 -- almost four years before
Russia
's full-scale invasion of Ukraine -- that it was locked in a "cyber war" with Moscow.
Ank Bijleveld's words came in the wake of an alleged hacking attempt outside the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)in The Hague.
Four GRU military intelligence officials were expelled from the Netherlands as a result.
Back then, Russia dismissed the hacking scandal as "disinformation" and accusations that it has orchestrated a string of global cyber attacks as "spy mania".
Since Moscow's February 24, 2022 invasion of its neighbour, the Netherlands has supplied a number of F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv, as well as a Patriot missile air defence system.
Last week Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans announced that 150 million euros ($172 million) have been allocated for air defence systems for Ukraine.
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