involvement in hacking during the US elections is an example of this. Various conventional and 'hybrid' conflicts in the vicinity of Europe now have a significant digital component, including the wars in Ukraine and Syria. Active and latent conflicts are also spilling over into cyberspace. The Netherlands is systematically targeted by digital intelligence activities. Digital espionage attacks are continually being directed at the Dutch government and Dutch businesses. It is probable that such attacks against the Netherlands will increase in scope and severity at times of mounting geopolitical tensions, particularly when such tensions affect the Netherlands. Threat: The increasing use of cyber operations for political objectives threatens the international legal order. In cyberspace it is difficult to identify the perpetrators of international unlawful acts and to verify compliance with existing rules; consequently, cyber operations pose a threat to the international legal order. Cyber operations make it possible to create peremptory effects that remain below the traditional legal thresholds established by the UN Charter and Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. In addition such operations often take place outside the public eye. Threat: Cyberattacks on vital infrastructure carried out by international actors can pose a serious threat to national security by manipulating, damaging or denying systems. Various agencies and levels of government work together to swiftly identify and combat cyberattacks on central government and vital infrastructure and to mitigate the repercussions of such attacks. This requires the close involvement of private partners, which are often interconnected with one another, both nationally and internationally. It is essential for all parties to be aware and resilient. Threat: Digital economic espionage by foreign intelligence services puts pressure on the Netherlands’ competitiveness. The past year saw a large number of digital attacks targeting companies in the Netherlands for reasons of economic espionage. Economic espionage harms the Netherlands’ competitiveness. The aim of these attacks was to obtain technology that may not yet have a proven market value. The technologies and trade secrets stolen in attacks like these could be of great value to ensuring a stable and growing economy that forms the basis for our prosperity. Two-thirds of the targeted companies were unaware that the attacks had occurred. 2.3 International challenges In addition to the threats discussed above, there are a number of other developments that need to be taken into account. Although trends in the digital domain are difficult to predict, it is possible to identify several relevant international challenges: Not only is the volume of data increasing, both nationally and internationally, so too is international interest in obtaining data. More and more, the work of both the public and private sector is data driven and reliant on large files that are increasingly being stored in the cloud, thus often outside of national borders. The internet of things (‘everything is connected to the internet’) and hyperconnectivity (‘everything and everyone is interconnected’) stimulate innovation and make technology more user-friendly, but at the same time, these developments leave the door open to misuse on a global scale. The issue of jurisdiction makes it more difficult to investigate cybercrime and prosecute cybercriminals and undermines public trust in the digital domain. The government also has law enforcement responsibilities in cyberspace. However, it is difficult to reconcile the global nature of cyberspace with the territorial boundaries of traditional national jurisdictions. Criminal investigations are premised on territorial jurisdiction for law enforcement and use of investigative methods. The fact that customary notions of jurisdiction are not fully applicable to cyberspace can seriously impede investigations. Criminal are aware of this fact and take advantage of it. The traditional system of international legal assistance cannot keep pace with the methods used by criminals to avoid detection. As a result there is a danger that AVT17/BZ122203 4