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The World’s Top Intelligence Agencies Explained: CIA, KGB, FSB, China’s MSS and More

A sourced comparison of the CIA, the KGB and its successors, China’s intelligence services and other major agencies, with timelines and a guide to reading claims.

  • 18US Intelligence Community members1
  • 1909MI5 and MI6 begin2
  • 1991KGB dismantled3
Comparison tableLatest Information War report

An intelligence agency collects, analyzes and sometimes acts on secret information for a government. This guide compares the services readers ask about most: the CIA, the Soviet KGB and its successors the FSB and SVR, Russia’s military intelligence (GRU), China’s Ministry of State Security and PLA intelligence, and other major services in the UK, Israel, India, Pakistan, France, Germany, Iran and North Korea. It states what each service says about itself, what courts, inquiries and other governments have said about it, and where the public record stops. Facts are footnoted to official sources first. Analysis is labeled as Peter’s World analysis. Claims about secret operations are included only when a document supports them, and always attributed.

Key takeaways

  1. The United States splits the job; Russia mostly keeps it together. CIA collects foreign intelligence, produces analysis and conducts covert action when the president directs it, and says it is not a law enforcement organization.4 NSA leads in signals intelligence and cybersecurity.5 Russia’s FSB, by contrast, handles counterintelligence, antiterrorism and surveillance of the military, and since 1995 can also operate abroad with the SVR.3
  2. The KGB no longer exists, but its pieces do. Britannica says the KGB was dismantled after the August 1991 coup attempt; its internal functions became the FSB and, under a December 18, 1991 decree, the SVR was created on the basis of the USSR Central Intelligence Service.36 The GRU, Russia’s military intelligence, stayed intact.7
  3. China’s law is explicit about the duty to cooperate. Article 7 of the 2017 National Intelligence Law says all organizations and citizens shall support, assist and cooperate with national intelligence efforts; Article 8 says intelligence work must respect human rights.8 The Ministry of State Security was set up in 1983 under the State Council.9
  4. Oversight differs sharply. The US created permanent congressional intelligence committees after the 1975-76 Church Committee,10 and Britain has statutory bodies such as the Intelligence and Security Committee and the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office.1112 Britannica describes Russian services as subject to little legislative or judicial scrutiny.3
  5. Influence operations are documented mostly through indictments, advisories and official histories. Examples on this page include the 1980s Soviet-bloc AIDS disinformation story,13 a 2018 US indictment of GRU officers,14 and the March 2026 US threat assessment’s description of Russian gray zone tools.15 Each is attributed to whoever made the claim.
  6. Be strict about sourcing. Agencies rarely confirm operations. This page lists documented episodes only, labels allegations as allegations, and leaves out well-known stories that rest on anonymous sourcing or unconfirmed accounts.

Compared at a glance

World intelligence agencies compared. “Not published” means we found no official figure; we do not use leaked or estimated numbers.
CountryAgencyFoundedParent or reports toRole and missionOversightSize (only if officially published)
United StatesCIA194716Independent agency in the Intelligence Community, which the Director of National Intelligence leads1Foreign intelligence collection, all-source analysis, covert action as directed by the president4Congressional intelligence committees1710Not published
United StatesNSA/CSS195218Combat support agency of the Defense Department (NSA’s site now says Department of War)5Signals intelligence and cybersecurity5Congressional intelligence committees17Not published
United StatesDIA196119Defense DepartmentMilitary intelligence for the Defense DepartmentCongressional intelligence committees17Not published
Soviet UnionKGB1954 to 199120Soviet state; described as the “sword and shield of the Communist Party”20Foreign intelligence, domestic counterintelligence, border troops, protection of leaders and surveillance of the populationParty control; dissolved after the August 1991 coup attemptDissolved
RussiaFSB1995, from the 1994 FSK3Reports to the president3Counterintelligence, antiterrorism, surveillance of the military; activity abroad with the SVR3Britannica: little legislative or judicial scrutiny3Not published
RussiaSVRDecember 19916Russian president (created by presidential decree)Foreign intelligenceBritannica: little legislative or judicial scrutiny3Not published
RussiaGRU (officially GU)19187General Staff of the Armed Forces; answers to the chief of the General Staff and the defense minister7Military intelligence; Western governments also attribute cyber operations to it714Structure, staff numbers and financing are state secrets7State secret
ChinaMSS19839State Council9; central national security leadership bodies lead intelligence work8State security, counterintelligence, foreign intelligence9Internal supervision and a complaint process under the law (Arts. 26-27)8Not published
ChinaPLA intelligence units (Strategic Support Force until April 2024)SSF eliminated in the April 2024 reorganization; Information Support Force unveiled April 19, 20242122Central Military Commission leads military intelligence8Military intelligence, cyber, space and information supportNot published (CMC chain)Not published
United KingdomSIS (MI6)19092Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Foreign Secretary)23Foreign human intelligence; functions defined by the Intelligence Services Act 1994223Intelligence and Security Committee; IPCO; Investigatory Powers Act 2016111224Not published
United KingdomMI5 (Security Service)19092Home Office (Home Secretary)25Countering terrorism and state threats; protective security2625Same statutory bodies as MI6 and GCHQNot published
United KingdomGCHQ191927Foreign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeSignals intelligence and cyber security; the NCSC is part of GCHQ2728Same statutory bodies as MI6 and MI5Not published
IsraelMossad194929Prime Minister’s Office since 195129Intelligence outside Israel (overseas collection and special operations)Not described in the sources openedNot published
IsraelShin Bet (ISA)1948; in law February 194930Prime Minister’s chainCountering foreign espionage, domestic subversion and terrorism; security of vital institutions30ISA Statute of 2002, a public law30Not published
IsraelAman194831Israel Defense ForcesMilitary intelligence31Not described in the sources openedNot published
IndiaRAWSeptember 21, 196832Cabinet Secretariat, which functions directly under the Prime Minister3334External intelligence34Reports to the Prime Minister; created by executive decision, not statute, and not under parliamentary oversight (Britannica)3432Secret; CFR says staffing and budget remain secret34
PakistanISI194835Drawn from the army, navy and air force; first head was an army general35Intelligence sharing among the armed services35Not described in the sources openedNot published
FranceDGSELineage from July 1, 194036Ministry of the Armed Forces37Counterterrorism, counter-proliferation, geopolitics, counterespionage, cyberdefense37Not described in the sources openedAbout 7,000 people (DGSE’s own figure)37
GermanyBNDApril 1, 195638Higher federal authority tasked by the Federal Government39Political, economic and military foreign intelligence39Not described in the sources openedNot published
IranMOISCreated by parliament August 1983; ministry from 198440Library of Congress profile: reports directly to the Supreme Leader40Civilian intelligence and counterintelligenceNot published in the sources openedNot published
IranIRGC IntelligenceNot stated in the sources openedIRGC, which the US designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization in April 201941Library of Congress profile: IRGC Intelligence reports directly to the Supreme Leader40Not published in the sources openedNot published
North KoreaRGBNot publishedNorth Korean government (a “controlled entity,” per US Treasury)42Treasury: North Korea’s “primary intelligence organization”42Not publishedNot published
Analysis

Three patterns show up in the table. First, structure: the US and UK separate foreign collection (CIA, MI6), signals intelligence (NSA, GCHQ) and domestic security (FBI, MI5), while Russia’s FSB combines counterintelligence, antiterrorism and military surveillance in one service.32643 Second, legal footing: the UK acknowledged MI6 and GCHQ in law only in 1994,2 Israel anchored its security service in law in 1949 but kept it secret until 1957,30 and China wrote a general duty to cooperate into statute in 2017.8 Third, transparency: only France’s DGSE publishes a headcount among the agencies listed here,37 and Reuters notes that Russia’s GRU treats its structure, staff numbers and financing as state secrets.7

That asymmetry matters for readers. Democracies publish statutes, inquiry reports, court filings and, years later, declassified records, so their agencies can be checked against the public record, as the Church Committee did for the United States.10 Authoritarian systems publish laws and official histories but rarely operations, so claims about their services usually come from outside governments, courts and companies. Neither kind of source is neutral, which is why this page labels every attribution.

CIA: the United States’ civilian foreign intelligence service

The CIA Original Headquarters Building at Langley, Virginia, a multi-storey modern office building seen from the front lawn
The CIA Original Headquarters Building, Langley, Virginia, circa 1961. CIA photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Mission. CIA describes itself as an agency that provides objective intelligence on foreign countries and global issues to the president, the National Security Council and other policymakers. It lists three tasks: collect foreign intelligence, produce objective analysis, and conduct covert action as directed by the president. It says it does not make policy and is not a law enforcement organization.4

Structure. CIA says its work is organized in multidisciplinary mission centers, grouped into five directorates.44 It is one of 18 organizations in the Intelligence Community, which the Director of National Intelligence leads; that post was created after the 9/11 Commission’s July 2004 report.1 The community includes the Defense Department’s NSA and DIA; at home, the FBI’s counterintelligence mission covers foreign intelligence activity in the United States.143

History timeline

  1. 1947
    The National Security Act establishes CIA, which grew out of the World War II Office of Strategic Services and small post-war intelligence organizations.16
  2. 1953
    The State Department’s Office of the Historian later publishes a retrospective volume documenting the covert action that overthrew Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq on August 19, 1953, including Operation TPAJAX planning and implementation.45
  3. 1975-76
    The Church Committee, created after press reports that CIA had spied on anti-war activists, reviews about 110,000 documents and publishes its final report on April 29, 1976. It finds that “intelligence agencies have undermined the constitutional rights of citizens,” primarily because checks and balances “have not been applied.”10
  4. 1976-78
    Congress creates the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (1976) and passes the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (1978), which requires warrants for certain surveillance from a new court.10
  5. 2004-05
    After the 9/11 Commission, Congress creates the Director of National Intelligence; ODNI begins operations on April 22, 2005.461

Documented episodes

  • Iran, 1953. The preface to the State Department’s retrospective volume says an earlier 1989 volume gave no documentation of the CIA’s role or of the covert action that overthrew Mosaddeq, which drew sharp criticism and led to the new volume.45
  • The “Family Jewels.” The Senate Historical Office says this internal CIA report, which outlined the agency’s misdeeds back to the Eisenhower administration, became a road map for Church Committee staff.10
  • Domestic programs at other agencies. The same inquiry found NSA’s Projects SHAMROCK and MINARET, which monitored wire communications to and from the United States, and the FBI’s COINTELPRO, described as “covert action designed to disrupt and discredit the activities of groups and individuals deemed a threat to the social order.”10
Analysis

The CIA record is unusual mostly because so much of it can be checked. The agency’s own site states its mandate,4 the State Department has published a volume on a covert action it once left out,45 and a Senate inquiry reached findings about abuses that the agency and the FBI did not volunteer.10 That does not make the record complete. Operations are still classified, and declassification takes decades. What it does mean is that the main route for scrutiny in the US system is legal and parliamentary: inquiries, statutes, committees and court review. When you read a claim about CIA activity, the first question is whether it comes from that kind of record or from anonymous sourcing.

Covert action and influence are connected by definition: the agency lists covert action among its three tasks, always “as directed by the president.”4 The CIA’s own journal, Studies in Intelligence, also carries analysis of rival services’ information operations, including the Soviet-bloc AIDS story covered below.13

NSA and DIA. NSA says it leads the US government in cryptology, covering foreign signals intelligence and cybersecurity.5 It traces to a 1952 Truman directive on communications intelligence,18 and to the Army’s Signal Intelligence Service, which began the VENONA program in February 1943; roughly 3,000 VENONA translations were later made public.47 DIA was created by Defense Department Directive 5105.21 in 1961.19 More recently NSA co-authored, with CISA, the FBI and partner agencies in a dozen other countries, a 2025 advisory on Chinese state-sponsored intrusions into telecommunications networks.28

KGB, FSB, SVR and GRU: how Russia’s services evolved

The yellow Lubyanka building in Moscow, former KGB headquarters, seen from the street
The Lubyanka building, Moscow, former KGB headquarters, now occupied by the FSB. Photo by A.Savin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The KGB. Britannica says the Committee for State Security was created in 1954 to serve as the “sword and shield of the Communist Party.” Its responsibilities covered foreign intelligence, domestic counterintelligence, technical intelligence, protection of the political leadership and border security.20 It was the most durable of a series of Soviet security agencies that began with the Cheka in December 1917; Britannica reports that archives opened in the 1990s showed the Cheka, which had more than 250,000 staff in 1921, was responsible for more than 140,000 executions, and that more than 750,000 people were executed in 1937-38 under the NKVD.20

Foreign intelligence. Declassified material gives a view of Soviet espionage from the other side. NSA’s VENONA releases decrypted about 3,000 Soviet cables, including KGB traffic that gave US leaders insight into Soviet intentions and government employees’ “treasonous activities.”47 The Mitrokhin Archive, notes on KGB foreign-intelligence files made by a former KGB archivist, is open at Churchill Archives Centre in Cambridge, which says the FBI described it as “the most complete and extensive intelligence ever received from any source.” The open material is Mitrokhin’s own typescript notes, not his original handwritten notes, so it should be read as a secondary record.48

KGB to FSB: how Russia’s services evolved

  1. Dec 1917
    The Cheka is established in the first days of the Bolshevik government.20
  2. 1922-1946
    The Cheka is replaced by the GPU (1922), renamed the OGPU (1923), absorbed into the NKVD (1934); state security moves to the NKGB (1941) and, as ministries, the MGB and MVD (1946).20
  3. 1954
    The KGB is created, after Stalin’s death and the fall of Lavrenty Beria in 1953.20
  4. Aug 1991
    Some KGB units take part in the coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev; the agency is dismantled afterward.3
  5. Dec 18, 1991
    A decree signed by Boris Yeltsin creates the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) on the basis of the USSR Central Intelligence Service (our translation from the Russian original).6
  6. 1992-1995
    Internal security functions are reconstituted first as the Ministry of Security, then the Federal Counterintelligence Service (FSK), and in 1995 the FSB, with new powers including entering private homes and operating abroad in cooperation with the SVR.3
  7. 1998
    Vladimir Putin, a KGB veteran, is appointed FSB director; as president he later widens the FSB’s powers to include countering foreign intelligence, fighting organized crime and suppressing Chechen separatists.3
  8. 2010
    The GRU is formally renamed the Main Directorate (GU) of the General Staff; the old acronym stays in common use. It was founded in 1918 and, unlike the KGB, was not broken up in 1991.7

Agency by agency

  • FSB. Britannica calls it a Russian internal security and counterintelligence service, one of the successor agencies of the KGB, occupying the former KGB headquarters on Lubyanka Square.3 It adds that, despite early promises of reform, the services “remained largely unreformed and subject to little legislative or judicial scrutiny.”3
  • SVR. The foreign intelligence service. On April 15, 2021 the White House formally named the SVR as the perpetrator of the SolarWinds espionage campaign, saying the intelligence community had “high confidence” in the attribution and that the compromise gave the SVR the ability to spy on or disrupt more than 16,000 computer systems worldwide.49
  • GRU (GU). Reuters reports the GRU has no public website and does not comment on its actions.7 In July 2018 a US grand jury indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers over alleged hacking and staged releases of stolen documents tied to the 2016 election,50 and in October 2018 indicted seven GRU officers in a case that the Justice Department said included an “influence and disinformation campaign” against anti-doping bodies. These are allegations; the department notes defendants are presumed innocent.14 Russia has denied the Western accusations summarized by Reuters.7
  • Salisbury. The independent Dawn Sturgess Inquiry, whose report was published on December 4, 2025, wrote: “I have concluded that the operation to assassinate Sergei Skripal must have been authorised at the highest level, by President Putin.” That is the inquiry chair’s finding; he also said he was sure that three men using aliases were members of GRU Unit 29155 and placed Novichok on Skripal’s door handle. Russia has denied involvement.517
Analysis

The through-line from the KGB to today’s services is institutional continuity with a changed legal wrapper. Britannica documents that few KGB officers were removed after dissolution and that the successor services stayed under KGB veterans.3 The split into an internal service (FSB), a foreign service (SVR) and a military service (GRU) also gives investigators separate trails: US and UK charges describe GRU units and named officers, while the White House attribution for SolarWinds names the SVR.1449 Treating “Russian intelligence” as one actor hides those differences.

On information operations, the strongest public statement in this period is from the US intelligence community’s March 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, which says Russia’s gray zone tools include “cyber attacks, disinformation and influence operations, energy market manipulation, military intimidation, and sabotage,” and that Russia “often hides and denies its role.”15 That is an official US assessment, not a neutral finding, and it should be read alongside Russian denials. The practical lesson for readers: look for the named unit, the legal document or the declassified record behind a claim, not only the agency label.

China’s Ministry of State Security and PLA intelligence

Origins and mission. A Federation of American Scientists history says the Ministry of State Security (MSS) was established by the National People’s Congress in June 1983 under the State Council, after a proposal to merge the Communist Party’s Central Investigation Department with the counterintelligence elements of the Ministry of Public Security.9 The 1983 charge was to ensure “the security of the state through effective measures against enemy agents, spies, and counterrevolutionary activities.”9

The legal framework. The 2017 National Intelligence Law (amended 2018) says intelligence work is led by the central national security leadership bodies, while the Central Military Commission “uniformly leads and organizes military intelligence efforts” (Article 3). Article 7 says all organizations and citizens shall support, assist and cooperate with national intelligence efforts and protect the secrets they learn; Article 8 says the work shall be conducted in accordance with law and respect and protect human rights; Articles 26 and 27 provide for internal supervision and for reports about abuses.8 The English text we cite is an unofficial translation of the Chinese law.

PLA intelligence. In April 2024 China’s president unveiled a new Information Support Force at a ceremony in Beijing, according to Chinese state media, and the Jamestown Foundation’s analysis describes the elimination of the Strategic Support Force in the same reorganization.2122 Under Article 3 of the intelligence law, military intelligence remains under the Central Military Commission.8

Documented episodes (all attributed)

  • July 2020 indictment. The Justice Department charged two Chinese nationals, alleging a hacking campaign of more than ten years against companies in many countries and, in some instances, for the benefit of the MSS through its Guangdong State Security Department. These are allegations; the department states the defendants are presumed innocent.52
  • 2024 critical infrastructure advisory. CISA and partner agencies said a PRC state-sponsored actor known as Volt Typhoon had compromised and maintained access to US critical infrastructure networks.53
  • 2025 telecommunications advisory. NSA, CISA, the FBI and agencies from a dozen other countries said the activity was linked to China-based companies that, in their words, “provide cyber-related products and services to China’s intelligence services, including multiple units in the People’s Liberation Army and Ministry of State Security.” The advisory says the data stolen can help Chinese intelligence services track targets’ communications and movements.28
Analysis

Two points help separate fact from assumption on China. First, the legal text and the attributions come from different places. The duty to cooperate is in the law itself;8 the attributions to MSS and PLA units come from US and allied agencies, courts and advisories,5228 and Beijing has its own account of its services’ work. Second, the 2024 reorganization is a reminder that organizational charts change. Anyone citing the “Strategic Support Force” as a current unit in late 2026 is using a label that analysis of the April 2024 reorganization says was eliminated.22

For influence operations specifically, the Information War report on this site covers a recent case: a warning from a Chinese military-affiliated outlet to a Taiwanese television host, alongside a US joint advisory and a Justice Department seizure of domains tied to a China-based firm. Read that report, which attributes each claim, as the current-events companion to this background page.

Other major services: shorter profiles

United Kingdom: MI6, MI5 and GCHQ

A Secret Service Bureau was established in July 1909 and split into Home and Foreign Sections, now better known as MI5 and MI6; Mansfield Cumming, appointed in October 1909 to lead the foreign branch, signed as “C,” the title still given to MI6’s head.2 The title Secret Intelligence Service was adopted around 1920. SIS says its authorised history ends in 1949 and that the Intelligence Services Act 1994 was the first public acknowledgement of the existence of MI6 and GCHQ.2 MI5 describes its work as countering terrorism, countering state threats and, through the National Protective Security Authority, protective security advice.26 GCHQ began as the Government Code and Cypher School on November 1, 1919, took the cover name GCHQ in 1939, played its Second World War role at Bletchley Park and moved to Cheltenham in 1950.5427 SIS itself says it “predicted Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022”; that is the service’s own claim and is not independently documented here.2

Israel: Mossad, Shin Bet and Aman

The Mossad’s archived official history says Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion authorized an “Institution for Co-ordination” on December 13, 1949, headed by Reuven Shiloah, and that in March 1951 it was reorganized to handle all overseas intelligence tasks and reported directly to the Prime Minister.29 The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) says its predecessor was formed on June 30, 1948, the existence of a security service was anchored in law in February 1949, its existence was not revealed to the public until 1957, and its missions and powers were legislated in the 2002 ISA Statute.30 Aman, the military intelligence branch, was formed in the same 1948 reorganization.31 Public accounts of specific Israeli operations are dominated by contested media reports, so this page lists none that lack official or declassified confirmation.

India: RAW

Britannica says the Research and Analysis Wing was established on September 21, 1968, by executive decision rather than statute, and is not under parliamentary oversight.32 The Council on Foreign Relations says RAW was founded primarily to counter China’s influence and later shifted its focus to Pakistan, that it reports directly to the prime minister, and that its staffing and budget remain secret.34 India’s Cabinet Secretariat, where RAW sits, functions directly under the Prime Minister.33 Pakistan accuses RAW of supporting separatists; RAW denies the charge, according to CFR.34

Pakistan: ISI

An Indian defence-studies analysis says the ISI was set up in 1948, shortly after the first war with India, to strengthen intelligence sharing among the army, navy and air force, and was first headed by Major General R. Cawthorne, one of the last British officers to leave Pakistan.35 The source is an Indian institute and should be read with that perspective in mind; Pakistan’s government publishes little about the agency.

France: DGSE and Germany: BND

The DGSE traces its history to July 1, 1940, when General de Gaulle tasked André Dewavrin with creating the intelligence service of Free France.36 It lists counterterrorism, counter-proliferation, geopolitics, counterespionage and cyberdefense as missions and says it has about 7,000 staff.37 Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) was founded on April 1, 1956, and is described by Germany’s federal civic education agency as the country’s only foreign intelligence service.38 The BND describes itself as a higher federal authority that compiles political, economic and military foreign intelligence on the Federal Government’s tasking.39

Iran: MOIS and IRGC Intelligence

A Library of Congress Federal Research Division profile says parliament approved the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) in August 1983, by merging earlier bodies, and that the ministry began in 1984; it also says both MOIS and IRGC Intelligence report directly to the Supreme Leader.40 In April 2019 the State Department designated the IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.41 In July 2021 a US indictment alleged that an Iranian intelligence official and a network of three other people plotted to kidnap the journalist Masih Alinejad in New York; the Treasury Department sanctioned an Iranian intelligence network over the plot and described MOIS’s “well-documented role” in repression. These are allegations in a charging document.5556 Our IRGC explainer covers the Guard Corps itself.

North Korea: RGB

The US Treasury described the Reconnaissance General Bureau as North Korea’s “primary intelligence organization” when it designated it as a controlled entity of the North Korean government in 2015.42 The 2026 US threat assessment says North Korea is capable of conducting espionage, cybercrime and cyber attacks.15 North Korea publishes almost nothing about the bureau, so its size, history and structure are not given here.

Analysis

These services show how much “intelligence agency” can mean. India’s RAW and Israel’s Mossad are external services reporting to the head of government,3429 the DGSE reports through a defense ministry and publishes a headcount,37 and Iran has two parallel services that a Library of Congress profile says both report to the Supreme Leader.40 Overlap is common. Britain splits domestic and foreign work between MI5 and MI6 while GCHQ handles signals,26227 while Israel’s three services were created together in a 1948 reorganization.31

The reader’s takeaway is practical. The agency name tells you the function and legal home, not how much the public record shows. For most of these services the official record is a short history page and a statute; the documents that let readers check specific claims are in court filings, sanctions notices and advisories issued by other governments. Treat those as allegations of the issuing authority, labeled as such.

Intelligence agencies and influence operations

Intelligence services are often named in influence and disinformation cases because their mandates include covert action, deception and the cyber tools used to steal and stage the release of documents. Below are documented examples, each attributed to the source that made the claim. The Information War report of October 10, 2026 and the Information War News Hub track current operations day by day.

  1. 1980s
    Soviet-bloc AIDS disinformation. CIA’s Studies in Intelligence published Thomas Boghardt’s account of KGB and East German efforts to spread the claim that AIDS was created at Fort Detrick.13 Later German archival research by Douglas Selvage and Christopher Nehring, published by the Bundesarchiv, re-examined the story, so readers should consult both.57
  2. 1975-76
    US domestic disruption. The Church Committee documented the FBI’s COINTELPRO as covert action to “disrupt and discredit” groups, a reminder that democracies’ services have also run covert influence programs.10
  3. 2016-2018
    GRU hack-and-leak and the “Fancy Bears” persona. US indictments allege GRU units hacked targets tied to the 2016 election and anti-doping bodies and staged releases of stolen material, in the second case under a fake hacktivist label, including outreach to about 186 reporters.5014 Allegations; defendants presumed innocent.
  4. 2021
    SolarWinds. The White House formally attributed the espionage campaign to the SVR. This was espionage, not an influence operation, and it is included to show how attributions are phrased.49
  5. 2025
    Salt Typhoon advisory. A multinational advisory linked intrusion activity to China-based companies serving Chinese intelligence units.28
  6. March 2026
    US threat assessment. The intelligence community describes Russia’s use of disinformation and influence operations as part of its gray zone toolkit.15
Analysis

Three cautions apply when connecting an agency to a viral claim. First, attribution is graded: the White House said it had “high confidence” in naming the SVR for SolarWinds,49 a grand jury indictment is a charge, not a verdict,14 and an inquiry chair’s conclusion is a legal finding after hearing evidence.51 Second, a service’s name on an operation does not show the operation worked. The record we cite documents activities and charges, not audience effects. Third, the actors are not only states: company takedown reports, such as those from OpenAI covered in our Information War report, name networks, but each company’s methods and evidence differ.

For daily coverage, start with the latest Information War report, the hub and the War Room’s Information War panel. For the wider strategic picture, see Geopolitics.

How to read intelligence claims

Frequently asked questions

Is the KGB still around?

No. Britannica says the KGB was dismantled after the August 1991 coup attempt. Its internal functions passed to what became the FSB, and the SVR was created in December 1991 on the basis of the USSR Central Intelligence Service.36

What is the difference between the CIA and the FBI?

CIA collects foreign intelligence, produces analysis and conducts covert action as directed by the president, and says it is not a law enforcement organization.4 The FBI’s counterintelligence mission covers foreign intelligence activity in the United States.43

What is the difference between the FSB, SVR and GRU?

The FSB is the internal security and counterintelligence service, the SVR is the foreign intelligence service, and the GRU, now officially the Main Directorate (GU) of the General Staff, is military intelligence. The FSB and SVR were created from the KGB; the GRU was founded in 1918 and stayed intact.37

Does China’s law require companies to help its intelligence services?

Article 7 of the 2017 National Intelligence Law says all organizations and citizens shall support, assist and cooperate with national intelligence efforts in accordance with law. Article 8 says the work must respect and protect human rights.8 How the law is applied in practice is a separate question this page does not answer.

Which intelligence agency is the largest?

We cannot say from official sources. Most agencies do not publish headcounts or budgets; among the agencies on this page, only France’s DGSE gives a figure (about 7,000 people).37 Rankings you see elsewhere usually rest on estimates.

Did Russian intelligence try to kill Sergei Skripal?

The independent Dawn Sturgess Inquiry found that three men using aliases, members of GRU Unit 29155, attempted to assassinate Sergei Skripal with Novichok, and concluded the operation must have been authorised at the highest level, by President Putin. Russia has denied involvement.517

Sources and footnotes

57 sources, numbered in order of first use. Official government sources come first; Britannica, think-tank and news sources appear only where no official source was available. Several official sites (for example NSA, ODNI, MI5, SIS, Mossad, Shin Bet and the Russian and Chinese government sites) block automated requests; those we could not open directly were checked through the Internet Archive or a mirror, as labeled.

  1. ODNI: About, history and members of the Intelligence Community Office of the Director of National Intelligence ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  2. SIS (MI6): Our history Secret Intelligence Service, official ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  3. Federal Security Service, Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica (author: Robert W. Pringle) ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  4. About CIA CIA, official ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  5. About NSA/CSS NSA, official ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  6. Decree of the President of the RSFSR of December 18, 1991, No. 293, On the creation of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the RSFSR (in Russian) Kremlin.ru, official ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  7. Factbox: What is Russia's GRU military intelligence agency? (Reuters, October 5, 2018) Reuters ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  8. PRC National Intelligence Law (as amended 2018), unofficial English translation China Law Translate (translation of the official law) ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
Show 49 more sources
  1. Ministry of State Security: History Federation of American Scientists, Intelligence Resource Program ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  2. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities (Church Committee) US Senate Historical Office ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  3. Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament UK Parliament committee ↩ ↩
  4. Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office IPCO, official ↩ ↩
  5. Thomas Boghardt, Soviet Bloc Intelligence and Its AIDS Disinformation Campaign, Studies in Intelligence 53:4 (2009) CIA, Center for the Study of Intelligence ↩ ↩ ↩
  6. U.S. Charges Russian GRU Officers with International Hacking and Related Influence and Disinformation Operations (October 2018) US Department of Justice ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  7. Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, March 2026 ODNI report, hosted by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  8. National Security Act of 1947, Milestones US State Department, Office of the Historian ↩ ↩
  9. About the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence US House of Representatives ↩ ↩ ↩
  10. Foreign Relations of the United States 1950-1955, Intelligence: Truman and Defense Department directives creating NSA (document 136) US State Department, Office of the Historian ↩ ↩
  11. Department of Defense Directive 5105.21, Defense Intelligence Agency, August 1, 1961 National Security Archive (document hosted) ↩ ↩
  12. KGB, Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica (author: Robert W. Pringle, former CIA analyst) ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  13. Xi: Crucial role for new PLA force (April 20, 2024) China Daily (state media) ↩ ↩
  14. J. Michael Dahm, A Disturbance in the Force: The Reorganization of PLA Command and Elimination of China's Strategic Support Force, China Brief 24:9 (April 26, 2024) Jamestown Foundation ↩ ↩ ↩
  15. Intelligence Services Act 1994 UK legislation.gov.uk ↩ ↩
  16. Investigatory Powers Act 2016 UK legislation.gov.uk ↩
  17. Security Service Act 1989 UK legislation.gov.uk ↩ ↩
  18. MI5: What we do MI5, official ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  19. GCHQ starts its Centenary Year GCHQ, official ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  20. Countering Chinese State-Sponsored Actors Compromise of Networks Worldwide to Feed Global Espionage System (AA25-239A) CISA, NSA, FBI and partner agencies ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  21. Mossad: History (archived copy of the official site, 2007) Mossad, official, via Internet Archive ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  22. Israel Security Agency: History (archived copy of the official site, 2011) Israel Security Agency, official, via Internet Archive ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  23. Israel Intelligence & Security: The Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet), with the 1948 reorganization that created Aman, Mossad and the ISA Jewish Virtual Library (secondary) ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  24. Research and Analysis Wing, Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica ↩ ↩ ↩
  25. Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India: General Government of India, official ↩ ↩
  26. RAW: India's External Intelligence Agency Council on Foreign Relations ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  27. Rana Banerjii, Pakistan: Inter Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), An Analytical Overview, Journal of Defence Studies (2011) Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (India) ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  28. DGSE: Our legacy DGSE, official ↩ ↩
  29. DGSE: Home and missions (in French) French Ministry of the Armed Forces, official ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  30. Vor 60 Jahren: Gründung des BND (in German) Federal Agency for Civic Education (Germany) ↩ ↩
  31. BND: Our mission Bundesnachrichtendienst, official ↩ ↩ ↩
  32. Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security: A Profile (Library of Congress Federal Research Division, December 2012; mirror) Library of Congress, Federal Research Division ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  33. Designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps US State Department ↩ ↩
  34. Treasury Imposes Sanctions Against the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (January 2, 2015) US Treasury ↩ ↩ ↩
  35. Counterintelligence and Espionage FBI, official ↩ ↩ ↩
  36. CIA: Our Organization CIA, official ↩
  37. Foreign Relations of the United States 1951-1954, Iran, 1951-1954 (retrospective volume), Preface US State Department, Office of the Historian ↩ ↩ ↩
  38. 9/11 Commission Report National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States ↩
  39. Venona Documents NSA, official ↩ ↩
  40. The Papers of Vasiliy Mitrokhin (1922-2004) Churchill Archives Centre, University of Cambridge ↩
  41. Fact Sheet: Imposing Costs for Harmful Foreign Activities by the Russian Government (April 15, 2021) White House fact sheet, archived by the American Presidency Project ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
  42. Russian Interference in 2016 U.S. Elections (wanted notice for the indicted GRU officers) FBI, official ↩ ↩
  43. The Dawn Sturgess Inquiry Report (Lord Hughes of Ombersley), Part 8: Conclusions (December 4, 2025) UK Government, independent public inquiry ↩ ↩ ↩
  44. Two Chinese Hackers Working with the Ministry of State Security Charged with Global Computer Intrusion Campaign (July 21, 2020) US Department of Justice ↩ ↩
  45. PRC State-Sponsored Actors Compromise and Maintain Persistent Access to U.S. Critical Infrastructure (AA24-038A) CISA and partner agencies ↩
  46. GCHQ: Our origins and WWI GCHQ, official ↩
  47. United States v. Farahani et al., Indictment, S.D.N.Y. No. 21 Cr. 430 (filed July 13, 2021) US federal court filing, via CourtListener ↩
  48. Treasury Sanctions Iranian Intelligence Network Targeting Iranian-American Activist in the United States US Treasury ↩
  49. Douglas Selvage and Christopher Nehring, Die AIDS-Verschwörung (Bundesarchiv, in German) German Federal Archives ↩
Further reading (9 links)

Analysis boxes are Peter’s World analysis, not statements by any agency. Last reviewed October 10, 2026. Images: CIA photo (public domain), Lubyanka photo by A.Savin (CC BY-SA 3.0), featured graphic self-drawn.

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