Because they do not form a single entity and because their responsibilities are split between multiple government ministries and even jurisdictions, this is an informal term for all government agencies and components with intelligence duties, used by commentators, scholars and journalists.
The three federal intelligence agencies are: Other state agencies that use intelligence techniques or collect data, such as the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the German Customs Investigation Bureau (ZKA), or the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) are not officially regarded as member of the German Intelligence Community, although they do participate in coordinative institutions, such as the Joint Centre for Counterterrorism and -extremism (GETZ).
In cases where the agencies want to surveil electronic communications, they have to get permission by the G10-Commission, which acts much like the FISA Court.
The traditional primary focus of the German Intelligence Community, originally the West German Intelligence Community, was the threat posed by the Soviet Union and its satellite states.
The German Intelligence Community has been closely aligned with the United States Intelligence Community, especially the CIA, since the start of the Cold War.