Technology Survey National Security

The National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV) - the presiding organisation of the Steering Committee for National Security - assigned TNO to explore the opportunities and threats of technological developments for national security for the coming five years. This survey is part of the ‘Strategy for National Security’ and has been a cooperation between a diverse group of experts and organisations from the Analyst Network. The report was published on 14th of April 2014 and can be downloaded from the NCTV website (Note: survey is in Dutch).

The study shows that new technologies, e.g. nano and micro electromechanical systems, 3D printing, and robotics could be exploited for criminal and terrorist use. On top of this, the increasing dependency of society on the internet and digital data increases the chance and impact of manipulation and abuse of these data. At the same time, technological developments create possibilities for faster and more efficient security actions. This could also lead to new societal issues, for example on privacy, identity, and ethics. The National Security Analysts Network will follow up on this study by analysing several national security related outcomes in more detail.