Bangladesh, Oct. 19 -- In recent years, the Netherlands – long known for its progressive policies, efficient governance, and secure digital infrastructure – has found itself facing a new and deeply troubling form of organized crime. What began as a simple act of corruption – a government employee leaking personal information – has escalated into a national security nightmare. Prosecutors now allege that stolen data from Dutch government systems has been weaponized by criminals, helping trigger a surge of shootings and bombings across the country.

At the center of this unfolding scandal is a shocking case: a city clerk accused of selling sensitive information from Amsterdams municipal databases to data brokers, who...