According to the General Intelligence and Security Service (ADIV), espionage and attempts by foreign powers to interfere in our country’s affairs have reached levels not seen since the Cold War. In its annual report that is being made public for the first time, ADIV mainly warns of a threat posed by Russia.
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Military Intelligence Service warns that espionage is at its highest level since the Cold War
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The military intelligence service opens its annual report by stating that the world is rapidly changing.
The Head of ADIV’s Wim Robberecht told VRT Radio 1’s morning news and current affairs programme ‘De ochtend’ that "We must realise that the calm that we have known since the end of the Cold War has passed. This has been the case ever since the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014. Since then, the security situation has only become more worrying."
The instability leads to more espionage and foreign interference in our affairs. Belgium is a popular target because Brussels is home to many international institutions. During the past year, the Russian intelligence services focused on the war in Ukrainian. However, ADIV predicts that now cyber espionage will increase. Pro-Russian hacktivists are increasingly carrying out cyber-attacks on countries considered to be a threat by Russia.
The threat does not only come from Russia though. For the first time, the Head of China's intelligence service has a seat on the Chinese Politburo. China is therefore likely to continue to use cyber-attacks.
Vice-Admiral Robberecht told VRT News that "China is technologically very efficient. We have already had experience of this. Last year we were hacked at both the Interior and Defense Ministries by Chinese hackers close to the Chinese state."
Cyber Command set up to counter the online threat
To counter the online threat, ADIV set up the Cyber Command last year. This is a 5th component of the Belgian military, the other components being the army, the navy, the air force and medical component. "Our world has become digital, at all levels of society," Vice-Admiral Robberecht warns
In 2022, ADIV hired 53 military personnel and 26 civilians to help it keep up with expansion plans. More staff is still needed though. Vice-Admiral Robberecht hopes ADIV will grow from "well under a thousand people" to "well over a thousand people" within the next 5 years.
Extremism and terrorism
In its annual report ADIV also points to domestic threats. The service predicts that the far-left and the far-right will exploit protest movements about issues such as rising inflation. Moreover, "continued migratory pressure on Europe will continue to feed far-right propaganda”.
Vice-Admiral Robberecht also warns of an increase in conspiracy theories: "Democratic values are under pressure. When you see what happens around elections in other countries, it worries me. It seems routine that elections are questioned by conspiracy theorists. Foreign interference plays a role."
ADIV also reports that no information is yet known about new leaders within Al Qaeda or IS. The service predicts that the threat of religiously motivated attacks will remain the same in 2023 as it was in 2022. A lone wolf attack would be the most likely scenario.