The Federal Intelligence Service (BND), based in Berlin and Pullach, is a higher federal authority that reports to the Secretary of State to the Federal Chancellor and the Commissioner for Federal Intelligence Services. It is one of the three German secret services and is subject to scrutiny by the Parliamentary Control Committee.
As a foreign intelligence service, the BND is responsible for the procurement of foreign policy and security-related information from or about foreign countries. For this purpose, the Federal Intelligence Service employs about 6,500 staff.
