People look at semiconductor products at the 2025 World Semiconductor Conference Expo in Nanjing, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province on June 20, 2025. /AFP via Getty Images
Amid rising tensions with the West, China’s top intelligence agency has issued a new warning to its citizens: be wary of imported devices.
In a July 21 post on its official WeChat account, China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS)—China’s spy agency known for espionage operations in the United States and other countries—cautioned that foreign-made chips, smart equipment, and systems may contain “back doors” that could allow foreign actors to access sensitive information.
