The Dutch intelligence service AIVD has warned people to be on the alert for digital spying.

An AIVD official told Radio Netherlands Worldwide that China and Russia are known to be gathering intelligence in the Netherlands, but he emphasised that other countries appear to be interested too. The warning is not aimed at the general public, but is targeting such people as civil servants who handle confidential information or businessmen working in so-called sensitive areas.

Foreign intelligence services are scouring social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, because their users often reveal details about their private and professional lives, the AIVD says. The service also warns against e-mail attachments which may contain spyware, and against USB sticks which are given as presents. In at least one case a manager visiting a conference was given an apparently innocent free USB stick which turned out to contain spyware. The snooping software sent the contents of his computer hard disk to a foreign intelligence service.

In another example quoted by the Dutch intelligence agency, someone was required to leave his laptop with customs officials for a couple of hours. When the machine was picked up later, it turned out that its data had been copied.

AIVD has issued a number of brochures explaining the dangers.

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide