How Communist China Steals American Secrets and Endangers US Security

An overview of the agencies that the Chinese Communist Party uses to spy on the United States and other countries.

Chinese People's Armed Police responsible for the security of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City gather for a ceremony to mark the handover of guard duties on Tiananmen Square in Beijing on November 23, 2009. STR/AFP/Getty Images

At a press conference held on Dec. 20, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the prosecution of two hackers from communist China. According to the DOJ, they were members of the hacking unit APT10, which is affiliated with the Chinese regime’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).

The MSS is China’s only official intelligence agency, and is relatively new given the long history of communist Chinese espionage. It was established in 1983 by the merger of the former Political Security Department of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS, China’s police force), the Investigation Department or Central Investigation Department (CID), and other intelligence agencies.