The State Committee for National Security (SCNS-KR) is the national agency responsible for intelligence on counter terrorism and organised crime in Kyrgyzstan. In carrying out this task, it carries out both preventive and investigative measures against organized terrorism and crime. The chairman of the UKMK is a military officer and a member of the Security Council of Kyrgyzstan. It is currently based on 70 Erkindik Street, Bishkek.
The activities of the UKMK include:
The history of the modern Kyrgyz intelligence services dates back to December 1917, when the communist All-Russian Emergency Commission (VChK) was formed. A year later, on the Pishpek district investigation commission was established. After national delimitation occurred in the early 1920s, Regional State Political Directorate of the Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast was created. Later on the Committee for State Security (KGB) of the Kyrgyz SSR was formed, which served as the republican affiliate for the national KGB agency. On 20 November 1991, President Askar Akayev signed a presidential decree establishing the UKMK. Since 2007 after the Tulip Revolution, the State Committee for National Security has been operating in its current form.
In August 2002, the State Border Guard Service was established as a part of the UKMK, having been merged with the Main Border Guard Directorate of the Ministry of Defense and the Main Directorate of Border Control of the UKMK that day. This was done to have a more centralised intelligence system in Kyrgyzstan. In the years that followed, the UKMK would have little influence on the border guard service until it was finally removed from the National Security Committee on 4 September 2012, it was and was re-established as an independent department in the government.
In May 2025, the State Committee for National Security announced a nationwide campaign titled Operation Illegal, scheduled to begin on 10 June 2025. The initiative was introduced amid a surge in foreign arrivals and growing concerns over undocumented migration. GKNB Chairman Kamchibek Tashiev reported that, since the beginning of the year, over 100,000 foreigners had entered Kyrgyzstan for tourism, education, work, or other purposes, with an estimated 5,000 residing in the country illegally. Tashiev highlighted that the country's simplified entry procedures were being misused, with some individuals overstaying visas or engaging in unauthorized employment. The operation, involving coordinated efforts with other law enforcement agencies, aims to identify and deport undocumented migrants through mass checks and raids. Authorities warned that foreign nationals must verify their legal status by the launch date or face removal, with the government allocating 280 million soms to support enforcement and deportation measures.
The UKMK controls the Alpha anti-terrorist unit, which like all former Soviet countries refers to a top-secret special forces unit. The unit helps deliver on the tasks listed above. In August 2010, fighters of the unit went on strike in protest against the arrest of their former chief Almaz Dzholdoshaliyev. They appealed to President Roza Otunbayeva with a demand to change the measure of restraint for the detained UKMK officers. In response, the Prosecutor General's Office opened criminal cases against nine employees of the unit, accusing them of shooting at demonstrators during the Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010.
Following his party's success in the 2010 Kyrgyz parliamentary election, on 23 October, the home of Kamchybek Tashiev was burglarized. He later stated to Al Jazeera that "they broke in like bandits" and "tried to eliminate me", adding that "for sure, GSNB [security services] was behind these actions." Tashiev later became Chairman of the UKMK.
Since its establishment, the UKMK has sported many commemorative awards such as the following: