Foreign intelligence services - particularly those of Russia and Iran - have shifted away from deploying professional operatives in Europe, instead recruiting ordinary citizens online with promises of cash or adventure. The trend has fundamentally changed the nature of the espionage threat facing the continent.
Youssef Ait Daoud, director of intelligence and national threats at the Netherlands' National Investigations and Special Operations unit, laid out the scale of the problem in an interview with Politico, "Hvylya" reports.
"It's not as if there's a note saying, 'Greetings from Russia' or 'Greetings from Iran,'" Ait Daoud said. "Sometimes it's simply: 'Do you want to set fire to something for 5,000 euros?'"
He described the phenomenon as "crime as a service" - a model where foreign states outsource espionage and sabotage to civilians who often have no prior involvement in intelligence work. "What we see now is that citizens, for payment, for adventure, or for some other reason, are lending themselves for such tasks," he said.
While Russia's interference in Europe predates the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the pace and scale of operations have accelerated sharply over the past four years. In 2018, the Netherlands expelled four Russian military intelligence agents for attempting to hack the international chemicals watchdog.
Intelligence agencies across Europe have begun warning their citizens about the recruitment risk. Germany launched a media campaign in September cautioning people against becoming "disposable agents."
Also read: Fear of Moscow: Why Austria Refuses to Shut Down Russia's Spy Stations, FT Reports.