AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Netherlands on Thursday ordered the expulsion of two Russian diplomats suspected of spying on the Dutch high-tech sector, the AIVD national intelligence agency said.
One of the diplomats, working for the Russian foreign intelligence agency SVR, “occupied himself with spying in the technology and science fields”, the AIVD said in a statement.
“The Russian intelligence service developed contacts with people with access to sensitive information in the high-tech sector,” it said.
“The interest of the Russian intelligence officer went towards getting more information about artificial intelligence, semiconductors and nanotechnology. Many of these technologies have both civilian and military applications.”
In 2018, the Netherlands disrupted an attempt by Russian intelligence agents to hack the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague.
(Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Gareth Jones)
