Információs Hivatal

What Információs Hivatal does

Információs Hivatal (IH) is Hungary's civilian foreign intelligence service, established on March 1, 1990 following the country's political transition, and operating under the constitutional framework of Act CXXV of 1995 on National Security Services. The agency's statutory mission is to acquire, analyze, evaluate, and transmit foreign-origin and foreign-relevant confidential information that cannot be obtained through other state agency tools, and to deliver this intelligence to Hungarian government decision-makers to support foreign policy, security policy, counter-terrorism, counter-organized crime, economic security, and non-proliferation decisions. It also conducts national security vetting for personnel in sensitive positions and identifies foreign threats to Hungary's sovereignty and legal order. The directing minister is currently the Minister of Foreign Affairs (as of May 14, 2026), following a series of ministerial re-alignments across portfolios since 1995, with parliamentary oversight exercised through the National Security Committee of the Parliament.

The service's core technical capabilities are organized around three intelligence disciplines: HUMINT (humán műveleti tevékenység), encompassing covert human source operations abroad and domestically with foreign orientation; SIGINT (technikai hírszerzés), covering telecommunications channels, data transmission networks, and information/communication devices through technical and IT methods; and OSINT (nyílt forrású hírszerzés), drawing on electronic media, print, internet sources, and commercial databases. Covert information gathering is conducted under individual authorization, including surveillance, listening devices, postal interception, and electronic communication content access. A related technical portfolio covers cryptographic testing and certification of cipher procedures, algorithms, and devices, as well as encryption key production. Technical intelligence collection on Hungarian territory is performed in cooperation with the Nemzetbiztonsági Szakszolgálat (NBSZ).

As a government state entity, Információs Hivatal is not a commercial enterprise and does not generate revenue in the conventional sense. It operates as an independently managing budgetary body funded through the Hungarian state budget, with a special operating expenditure line covering intelligence-related personnel and material costs, including source payments subject to a 20% source tax. External audit by the State Audit Office (Állami Számvevőszék) is restricted to legality review rather than efficiency or appropriateness. The agency has no external customers in a commercial sense; its sole client is the directing minister and designated government bodies receiving classified intelligence products. Outreach is limited to a dedicated career portal (karrier.ih.gov.hu) and structured recruitment at Hungarian universities, with continuous engagement across security science programs.

Name

Információs Hivatal

Legal name

Információs Hivatal

Website

https://ih.gov.hu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Információs Hivatal is Hungary's civilian foreign intelligence service, established in 1990 under Act CXXV of 1995. It collects, analyzes, and disseminates foreign-origin intelligence to government decision-makers via HUMINT, SIGINT, and OSINT, supplemented by cryptographic services and national security screening.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

National Intelligence Services

NAICS

National Security (92811), National Security and International Affairs (928)

akta.pro primary industry

Intelligence (Strategic, Tactical & Technical) (BPAIAHAD)

Keywords

• Civil intelligence service
• Foreign intelligence collection
• Signals intelligence
• Human intelligence operations
• National security screening

Headquarters

HQ city

Budapest

HQ country

Hungary

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Információs Hivatal is Hungary's civilian foreign intelligence service that acquires, analyzes, evaluates, and transmits foreign-origin or foreign-relevant confidential intelligence to support government decision-making on national security matters. The agency delivers a multi-source intelligence portfolio combining HUMINT (human sources), SIGINT (signals intelligence), and OSINT (open source intelligence), supplemented by covert information collection, national security vetting, counter-terrorism and organized crime intelligence support, and cryptographic services.

Product overview

Információs Hivatal is Hungary's civil intelligence service operating under the 1995 Act CXXV on National Security Services. The organization provides a portfolio of intelligence capabilities including HUMINT (human intelligence), SIGINT (signals intelligence), and OSINT (open source intelligence) services. Its core offerings encompass government intelligence reporting, national security screening, counter-terrorism, organized crime intelligence, economic security analysis, and cryptographic services including encryption key production and certification. The service operates under strict legal authorization and parliamentary oversight, functioning as a national security organization rather than a commercial product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Humán műveleti tevékenység (HUMINT)
• Technikai hírszerzés (SIGINT)
• Nyílt forrású hírszerzés (OSINT)
• Titkos információgyűjtés
• Kormányzati tájékoztatás
• Nemzetbiztonsági ellenőrzés
• Kriptográfiai szolgáltatások

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NATO Security OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive participation in NATO security structures contributing to alliance security and interests. Long-standing partnership in multilateral intelligence cooperation within the NATO framework.
• EU Security OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive cooperation with EU security organizations contributing to European Union security and interests. Participation in European multilateral intelligence cooperation structures.
• 60+ Foreign Intelligence ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWide-ranging and stable international cooperation network built over decades with intelligence services from more than 60 countries. Mutual trust built over years forms the foundation of essential information exchange for effective mission fulfillment.
• Nemzetbiztonsági Szakszolgálat (NBSZ)coreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical intelligence cooperation for covert information gathering on Hungarian territory. The Információs Hivatal relies on NBSZ services for technical intelligence collection within Hungary.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND): Germany's federal foreign intelligence service. Comparable in that it conducts HUMINT and SIGINT collection abroad, reports to government principals, and operates under statutory authority within a parliamentary democracy — the most direct structural analog in Europe.
• Secret Intelligence Service (MI6): UK's foreign intelligence service. Performs covert intelligence collection abroad under the Intelligence Services Act, reports to the Foreign Secretary, and cooperates within the UKUSA/FIve Eyes and EU/NATO intelligence partnerships — directly comparable mission and governance model.
• Nachrichtendienst des Bundes (NDB): Switzerland's federal intelligence service. Comparable mid-sized European civilian intelligence agency with statutory authority under parliamentary oversight, combining HUMINT/SIGINT/OSINT and cooperating within European intelligence frameworks.
• AIVD (Algemene Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst): Netherlands' general intelligence and security service. Comparable mid-sized European civilian intelligence agency with HUMINT/SIGINT capabilities, statutory authority under the Intelligence and Security Services Act, and ministerial reporting structure.
• Mossad: Israel's foreign intelligence service. Conducts HUMINT, SIGINT, and covert operations abroad under prime-ministerial direction — a structurally comparable civilian foreign intelligence service operating under democratic oversight.
• Česká zpravodajská služba (BIS): Czech Republic's Security Information Service. Most direct regional peer: a Central European civilian intelligence agency of similar scale, statutory authority, ministerial reporting, and active NATO/EU intelligence cooperation.
• Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure (DGSE): France's foreign intelligence service. Conducts HUMINT and SIGINT, reports to the Ministry of Defense, and operates within EU/NATO frameworks — a structural peer with a comparable European parliamentary-democratic mandate.
• Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste (FE): Denmark's Defence Intelligence Service. Comparable small-to-mid-sized European civilian intelligence service conducting foreign intelligence collection, with statutory authority, ministerial reporting, and active NATO intelligence cooperation.

Broad incumbents

• Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): United States' civilian foreign intelligence agency. Larger in scope and global reach, but functionally the closest US analog: HUMINT/SIGINT/OSINT integration, presidential principal, statutory charter, and oversight via congressional committees.

Others

• Polgári Nemzetbiztonsági Szolgálatok (Civilian National Security Services): Hungary's umbrella for civilian national security services. Not a competitor but the closest domestic counterpart set (including NBSZ and KNBSZ) with which Információs Hivatal coordinates and shares intelligence products within the Hungarian national security architecture.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/InformationOfficeHungary

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Információs Hivatal