Dutch no less vulnerable to cyber attacks: official

The Netherlands "is not less vulnerable than other countries" to cyber attacks, Dutch Security and Justice State Secretary Klaas Dijkfhoff said Tuesday.

Addressing a cyber conference here, Dijkfhoff said Holland suffered little impact from the global attacks of ransomware WannaCry which hit some 150 countries over the weekend

Only some Q-Park garages were affected in the Netherlands while other countries like Britain saw major disruptions on its health system. "It was partly a matter of luck. I cannot say that the UK is not cyber aware or it is lagging behind," said Dijkhoff.

The Netherlands because of hosting some world class economic sectors is a top target for economic espionage, noted Dutch Intelligence and Security Agency (AIVD) director Rob Bertholee. "In recent years we have witnessed an increase in economic cyber espionage."

The AIVD has conducted investigations into companies and organizations affected by cyber spying in various sectors, including maritime IT technology, biotechnology, IT and defense companies. In two thirds of the cases organizations did not know they were hacked, said Bertholee.

The risk of cyber sabotage on critical infrastructure sectors, such as health, energy, banks or transportation, cannot be ruled out, Bertholee noted.

The threat of terrorists attacks using cyber space was rated as "limited." "The level of technical expertise available to jihadist groups is still insufficient to inflict significant damage," he said, "but the intention is there."

To strengthen cyber security, Dutch minister of Economic Affairs Henk Kamp highlighted the need of "closer cooperation between international companies and governments to create global private public partnerships to tackle cyber attacks."

"The awareness that as a government we cannot keep society safe will make other parties to step up and contribute to cyber security," said Dijkhoff. Endit