Two 17-year-olds have been arrested in the Netherlands on suspicion of conducting electronic surveillance of sensitive locations in The Hague - allegedly on orders from a Russian state-linked hacking group. The case has become a stark example of how foreign intelligence services recruit increasingly young operatives for hybrid warfare tasks.
The arrests were carried out in September by a newly created Dutch police unit dedicated to fighting foreign espionage, "Hvylya" reports, citing an interview with the unit's chief published by Politico.
The teenagers are suspected of using a device known as a "Wi-Fi sniffer" to map internet traffic around key locations. According to Dutch media, potential targets included the Canadian embassy and the offices of Europol and Eurojust.
Youssef Ait Daoud, director of intelligence and national threats at the Netherlands' National Investigations and Special Operations unit, declined to comment on the case directly but said the suspects do not fit the typical profile of professional operatives. Their age was unusual - most people implicated in Russian hybrid warfare plots tend to be in their thirties.
Also read: GPS Under Attack: Baltic States Hit by 22-Fold Surge in Russian Signal Jamming.