This was an unknown live-fire exercise. The two components taking part had no idea the other existed; they only knew they had to follow their contingency plans. Not every war was two armies facing off beneath clear skies, with charging knights and deafening artillery. Warfare in the information age was no less difficult than direct combat. Though little blood was visibly spilled, the political changes caused by war were just as obvious—perhaps even more so.
The Dutch Signals Intelligence Organization, Nationale SIGINT Organisatie (NSO), was subordinate to the Ministry of Defence, while also serving the Military Intelligence and Security Service, MIVD, and its civilian counterpart, AIVD. As a new organization established after the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, the operations of its listening posts and mobile units, which were intended for global counterterrorism, had been taken over by the Dutch Joint Signals Network Unit, Joint Sigint Cyber Unit (JSCU). This organization's primary mission was to intercept radio and satellite communications, gather intelligence on network operations, and work closely with the foreign intelligence agencies of allied nations. Its two interception stations were both located within the Netherlands, one for intercepting satellite communications and the other for high-frequency radio transmissions.
As a subordinate intelligence agency of the English-speaking nations' intelligence organizations born from the "Brusssels Agreement" and the "UKUSA Agreement," the Dutch Joint Signals Network Unit's intelligence operations were not controlled by the Dutch government. All intelligence it obtained had been filtered. Furthermore, the Dutch government provided its citizens with free and unrestricted Internet access while strongly opposing censorship. This allowed the intelligence agencies of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States to conduct mass surveillance and signal interception through software applications. Its citizens had no privacy to speak of; even politicians, embassies, and other facilities could be wiretapped.
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