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My New Part Time Job - Bert Hubert's writings
a day ago
- The author is joining the TIB, a three-member board that reviews warrants for Dutch intelligence services for legality starting December 1st.
- The TIB includes two judges and one technical expert, with the author serving as the technical member, a role added after a 2016 law rewrite.
- The appointment process involved interviews with supreme court presidents and the Ombudsman, parliamentary selection, a high-level security clearance, and a royal decree.
- The author previously worked at the AIVD from 2003 to 2006 and left DNS/PowerDNS to pursue this oversight role.
- The job is secret, but the oversight board's visibility is policy, allowing the author to discuss the role's existence but not its specifics.
Mijn nieuwe part-time baan - Bert Hubert's writings
a day ago
- The author has become one of three members of the Dutch Intelligence and Security Services Oversight Committee (TIB), effective December 1.
- The TIB reviews the legality of requests by Dutch intelligence agencies to use powers like wiretapping, eavesdropping, SIGINT, or hacking, and its decisions are binding.
- The committee consists of two judges and one technical expert, reflecting the need for both legal and technical oversight.
- The author previously worked for the AIVD (Dutch intelligence service) from 2003 to 2006, which is no longer secret.
- The selection process involves application to high courts, parliamentary screening, strict security clearance, and appointment by royal decree, with the author's decree arriving as a crumpled copy due to COVID-19.
- The author believes in the importance of intelligence services and the rule of law, and hopes their oversight contributes to proper use of special powers.
- The author clarifies they are not a spy but review what spies want to do, and that while the work is secret, the members' identities are public.
- The author continues to work on open-source projects like galmon.eu.
Vertrek TIB - Bert Hubert's writings
a day ago
- Bert Hubert resigned from the TIB (Supervisory Committee on the Use of Powers by Intelligence and Security Services) because of concerns about the proposed 'Temporary Law on AIVD and MIVD Investigations into Countries with Offensive Cyber Programs'.
- The new law aims to reduce pre-authorization oversight, abolish technical risk pre-approval, and significantly expand the powers of the Dutch intelligence services (AIVD and MIVD).
- Hubert argues that the law shifts too much oversight from pre-authorization to after-the-fact review, which is less effective and more resource-intensive.
- He highlights that pre-authorization has a self-regulating effect, encouraging agencies to submit complete and accurate requests, whereas after-the-fact oversight is harder to enforce and more laborious.
- Concerns include the removal of meaningful criteria for intercepting thick internet cables, lack of mandatory justification for bulk interception, and practical difficulties in finding enough technically skilled overseers.
- Hubert states that the necessity argument for the law (pre-authorization being too slow) ignores the existing fast-track procedure for ministerial approval.
- He resigned publicly to be able to speak freely about the law, hoping it will receive sufficient scrutiny before being passed.
- The law has a majority in the Dutch House of Representatives, and Hubert believes it will significantly weaken oversight.
Symposium toezicht AIVD en MIVD 29 September & Rowin Jansen - Bert Hubert's writings
a day ago
- Rowin Jansen defended his dissertation on oversight of the AIVD and MIVD at Radboud University, providing a key reference work.
- A symposium featured prominent speakers discussing intelligence oversight, including critiques of the current system.
- Corien Prins linked intelligence challenges to tensions between values, welfare, and resilience in a fragmenting world order.
- Pieter Bindt argued for differentiating privacy rights between Dutch and non-Dutch persons, but his Danish model example was criticized as incompatible with European human rights.
- Marja Horstman advocated for eliminating binding oversight, claiming it puts ministers in difficult positions, and criticized the CTIVD's orders to delete bulk datasets.
- The CTIVD's findings showed intelligence agencies failed to adequately justify retaining bulk datasets, leading to their eventual deletion after binding rulings.
- Hugo Hillenaar and Addie Stehouwer defended the TIB, noting only 1.4% of requests were deemed unlawful, continuing the debate on necessary oversight 'bite'.
- The article highlights a major oversight gap: the failure to address how to regulate intelligence agencies when political leaders disregard democratic and legal norms.

intelligence oversight

My New Part Time Job - Bert Hubert's writings

Mijn nieuwe part-time baan - Bert Hubert's writings

Vertrek TIB - Bert Hubert's writings

Symposium toezicht AIVD en MIVD 29 September & Rowin Jansen - Bert Hubert's writings