Denmark's military intelligence chief held over leak of sensitive information: Report

Lars Findsen, the head of the Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS), was arrested following a court order after allegations that the agency violated privacy regulations and concealed information. Since December 9, the military intelligence chief has been in custody for leaking sensitive information that could jeopardise Denmark's national security and international relations, Sputnik reported citing Danish state-owned broadcaster TV 2. According to the report, the decision to arrest Findsen was made in December and he was suspended from office in August last year. 

Last year, it was revealed that the DDIS had reportedly received and passed on huge amounts of personal data about Danish residents in violation of data privacy laws. It was accused of misleading the watchdog that was intended to hold it accountable. According to a report by Euronews, Findsen was one of the four current or former personnel of Denmark's two intelligence services who were taken in custody in December. On Monday, the Copenhagen District Court relaxed a media embargo on naming Findsen as one of the suspects, the report stated. 

Findsen headed DSIS before taking over as chief of DDIS

The DDIS, which is in charge of safeguarding Denmark against external threats, as well as the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (DSIS), are both reportedly involved in the scandal. Before becoming the head of the DDIS, Findsen was in charge of the DSIS from 2002 to 2007. It should be mentioned here that last month, DDIS claimed in its annual risk assessment that Russia is "intentionally" spying on Denmark, including phone tapping, hacking, and more traditional espionage tools like recruiting sources to divulge secrets. The report also underscored Moscow's military dominance. Anja Dalgaard-Nielsen, a DDIS official, stated that there is a serious threat to Danish organisations, authorities, and a number of Danish businesses. 

DDIS report accuses Russia of espionage

"Russia has a strong capacity to carry out classic agency operations as well as cyber espionage," Anja told Danish Radio as reported by Sputnik. In comparison to previous releases, this year's report lays a larger emphasis on Russia, which is perceived as posing a threat to Denmark in other areas as well, such as the Arctic, where both countries have territorial claims. According to the report, the Russian military is of a very high standard and in some areas, they are even better than modern, high-tech opponents.

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