Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism

Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism

Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz und Terrorismusbekämpfung
Agency overview
Formed	2002; 22 years ago (2002)
Dissolved	2021; 3 years ago (2021)
Superseding agency	State Security and Intelligence Directorate
Jurisdiction	Austrian Federal Government
Headquarters	Rennweg 89-93, Landstraße, Vienna
Agency executive	Erich Zwettler [de], Director
Parent agency	Directorate General for Public Security (GDföS)
Website	http://www.bvt.gv.at

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz und Terrorismusbekämpfung, "BVT") was an Austrian police organization that acted as a domestic intelligence agency. It was tasked with the protection of the constitutional organs of the Republic of Austria and their ability to function. The agency was created from the Austrian State police, as well as various special task forces targeting organized crime and terrorism that were under the direction of the Directorate General for Public Security (Generaldirektion für die öffentliche Sicherheit, "GDföS"), which itself is a department of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The BVT published the Verfassungsschutzbericht, an annual report on the status of the protection of the constitution.^[1]

In late 2021, following criticism for perceived failures in preventing the 2020 Vienna attack, the BVT was dissolved and replaced with the new State Security and Intelligence Directorate (DSN).^[2]