1 / 7Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / Reuters
The Mossad, Israel
The tiny state of Israel considered a holy land by Jews, Christians and Muslims, and surrounded by enemy states Eygpt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon is naturally the world’s most hostile geo-political location. To protect itself it created one of the most evolved, effective and feared intelligence agencies called the Mossad in 1949. The Mossad’s remorseless covert operations over the years, mainly involving destroying anti-Jew plots all over, has earned it the tag of “the world’s most efficient killing machine.” One such example is its tracking and hunting down all suspects behind the massacre of Jewish Israeli athletes in 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Yet another such example is its destroying Iran's nuclear ambitions way before anybody had even got a whiff of it. The intelligence agency, one of the three in Israel, is also linked with the assassination of many Palestinian leaders in Europe, North America and the Middle East.
2 / 7Yuri Gripas / Reuters
CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), the US
With the Second World War coming to an end and the Cold War with former Soviet Union heating up, need was felt for an independent intelligence agency to deal with the challenge. Thus, came into being the Central Intelligence Agency, popularly known by its acronym CIA, in 1947. Heavily funded and technologically most advanced, the CIA has been gathering information about foreign governments, individuals and corporations for over 70 years now to advise senior policymakers in the US. The CIA also engages in covert operations and paramilitary actions. Further, it exerts foreign political influence (it’s common knowledge how the US gained an upper hand in the Cold War by dismantling many a communist regime). However, it has also had its quota of intelligence failure. Most glaring of those have been the 9/11 attack and the subsequent failure to capture top level Al-Queda leaders for a long while.
3 / 7Mian Kursheed / Reuters
ISI (Inter-services Intelligence), Pakistan
Your heart may skip a beat on seeing the name, but there’s no denying it’s prowess. The ISI has had zero defectors or double agents so far and is known for not missing the slightest of evidence about a potential threat. Underfunded yet highly resourceful, the intelligence agency has always managed to up the ante against nations it perceives as enemies. It’s most notable achievement was taking on its Russian counterpart, the then KGB, and thwarting an attack by the former Soviet Union on its soil. Created in 1948, the ISI is the eyes and ears of the nation’s military. It is rumored to be spending millions on various pro-Pakistan political parties and buying key policymakers in the West.
4 / 7Anton Vaganov / Reuters
FSB (Federal Security Service), Russia
One of the three main arms of the Russian intelligence mechanism, it is a powerful and feared presence both inside the country and abroad. The FSB takes care of Russia’s internal security and is involved in counterespionage, fight against organized crime, terrorism, and drug smuggling. Headquartered in the same place as the former KGB, the FSB keeps its personal strength and budget a top secret. The FSB guides all law enforcement and intelligence agencies in Russia, as and when needed.
5 / 7Andrew Winning / Reuters
MI6 (Military Intelligence Section 6), the UK
The over-100 years-old intelligence agency, didn’t even make its identity public until 1994. Its main aim is to ensure UK’s interests and national security is not compromised. It is known to spend a whopping 2.6 billion pounds just on counter terrorism operations. Apart from that, it also gathers information on nuclear weapons, drug trafficking, organized crime and others. The MI6 played a key role in gathering course-altering information during the two World Wars and the subsequent Cold War. One of its swashbuckling spies, a Serbian who took part in the most daring missions and had even informed the FBI about the imminent attack on Pearl Harbor during Second World War, is said to be the inspiration behind James Bond movies.
6 / 7Jorge Silva / Reuters
Ministry of State Security (MSS), China
China’s main foreign intelligence agency, heavily into domestic security matters as well, is shrouded in mystery. Unlike most other intelligence agencies, it does not have any official website or any publicly listed contacts or spokesperson and even the exact location of its headquarters in Beijing in not known. What is known about it is that it is very powerful. It came into the spotlight last year around this time when a couple of Chinese nationals, including a mandarin, were arrested for stealing trade secrets and technologies from a dozen of countries (they were believed to be spies acting under the direction of MSS). This was one of the triggers for the ongoing trade spat between China and the US. The MSS benefits from close ties with not only the government but also private tech giants such as Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent all of which have the ability to mine data.
7 / 7The India Today Group via Getty Images
RAW (Research and Analysis Wing), India
Here’s something to cheer you up just in case you froze on seeing ISI’s name. The RAW claims it is mightier than its Pakistani counterpart thanks to its numerous satellites in orbit for effective surveillance, telephonic interception, etc. It also works closely with the CIA and the Mossad to monitor Pakistan’s nuclear program. Formed in 1968, RAW has played a key role in protecting India against terrorist attacks and monitoring developments in other countries which could directly affect India. Known to be extremely secretive, little is known about its past activities and operations.
Undercover agents, spies, tech geeks and even hackers. A nation’s intelligence agency is powered by them. Alongside the military and police force, these intelligence agencies form the backbone of a nation’s security mechanism.
Unlike the military and police force, however, little is known about their modus operandi, agents and covert operations that diffuse threats – external or internal – even before they form. They are powerful for sure, and in some cases heinous and ruthless.
In this slideshow, we take a look at some of the top intelligence agencies of the world, the nation’s they serve and their unmatched feats.
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