The General Intelligence and Security Service (Dutch: Algemene Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst (AIVD), Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑlɣəmeːnə ˈɪnlɪxtɪŋə(n) ɛn ˈvɛi̯ləxɦɛi̯dzdinst]), formerly known as the Domestic Security Service (Dutch: Binnenlandse Veiligheidsdienst (BVD)), is the secret service of the Netherlands. The office is in Zoetermeer. Its predecessor was the 1945–1947 Bureau of National Security (Dutch: ).
The AIVD focuses mostly on domestic non-military threats to Dutch national security, whereas the Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) focuses on international threats, specifically military and government-sponsored threats such as espionage. The AIVD, unlike its predecessor BVD, is charged with collecting intelligence and assisting in combating both domestic and foreign threats to national security.
The minister of internal affairs (and relations within the realm) is politically responsible for the AIVD's actions. Oversight is provided by two bodies:
The AIVD publishes an annual report which includes its budget. The published version contains redactions where information is deemed sensitive.
The AIVD can be forced by the courts to publish any records held on a private citizen, but it may keep secret information that is relevant to current cases. No information that is less than five years old will be provided under any circumstance to private citizens about their records.
Its main activities include:
Its methods and authorities include:
The latter is technically the same as sourcing intelligence from a foreign intelligence service; this method has not been confirmed.
The AIVD operates in tight concert with the Regional Intelligence Service (Regionale Inlichtingen Dienst, RID), to which members of the police are appointed in every police district. It also co-operates with over one hundred intelligence services.