Thread by @nimkef

30 Jan 2017

A computer scientist has complained that he was propositioned by the Dutch secret service to lead a new team of nation-state hackers and spy on Dutch citizens and other hackers abroad.

ibtimes.co.uk/dutch-secret-s…

Buro Jansen & Janssen has interviewed an independent Dutch security researcher who claims that he was tracked down and offered a job by the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service, which is also known as AIVD (Algemene Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst).

The man runs several Tor exit nodes for research purposes and is a Delft Tech alumnus. He was at a gym having a drink in early Jan 2017 when he was approached by a man & woman, who told him that they worked for AIVD & produced badges representing the Ministry of Internal Affairs

The AIVD agents told him they had read his thesis on computer security and were impressed. They then offered him several jobs, such as running a new unit called "Joint Sigint Cyber Unit" & leading young IT students in hacking work for the govt, which would include DDoSing

"They [also] asked me if I was interested in travelling for a couple of years and for example work in Germany at a technology company while visiting the Chaos Computer Club's hackerspaces to see what's going on and report back to them. All my expenditures would be covered."

"Here I should have realised they were trying to recruit me to spy in Germany but I was still in shock because I never thought secret agents would have an interest in me."

The researcher says that the agents also suggested that he could take "paid holidays" to hacker parties in Italy, Austria, Spain and other countries to learn about hacking methods and report back to AIVD:

"They were very honest about the fact that they were looking for foreign talent but mostly interested in keeping tabs on Dutch IT professionals and hackers abroad. They emphasised monitoring Dutch people abroad at least three times."

The AIVD agents asked him how he paid for his Tor exit nodes. He replied that he ran them from the cloud, they then asked him if he would like to expand and run a whole network of Tor exit nodes in the Netherlands for the govt, with all costs paid for by the Dutch secret service.