Denmark says espionage threat from Iran, China and Russia is increasing against the country as well as the Arctic region where world powers are competing for resources and sea routes.

Anders Henriksen, head of counterintelligence at the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, said in a report on Thursday that "The threat from foreign intelligence activities against Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands has increased in recent years.”

Copenhagen handles most of the security matters of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, which are sovereign territories under the Kingdom of Denmark as many countries are trying to get access to natural resources, sea lanes, research and militarily strategic areas in the Arctic region.

He added that Denmark's active international role as a NATO member, the openness of its society as well as technological prowess has made it "an attractive target of foreign intelligence activities" including from Iran, China and Russia.

The report said these foreign intelligence services were trying to make contact with students, researchers and companies to get formation about the Danish technology and research.

On Wednesday, the US military officially confirmed that Iran's intelligence ministry is connected to the cyber espionage group MuddyWater that steals data from computer networks around the world.