UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 020922

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMGT AINF NET CENTRIC DIPLOMACY
SUBJECT: SIPDIS CAPTION GUIDANCE - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

FOR ALL DCMS, CABLE DRAFTERS, AND REPORTING OFFICERS

REF:
08STATE120090
08STATE112582
07STATE160266
06STATE175460
06STATE089712
06STATE083673
05STATE226504



1. SUMMARY: A recent State Department Inspector General review of
the use of the SIPRNet Distribution (SIPDIS) caption concluded that
a significant percentage of overseas missions do not fully
understand the circumstances under which this caption should be
used. This message is an effort to rectify that situation. SIPDIS
was approved in 2005 as a cable caption that indicates the cable has
been deemed appropriate for widely sharing within an interagency
audience on the USG's Secret-level network known as SIPRNet.
SIPDIS-captioned messages are automatically posted to State's Net-
Centric Diplomacy (NCD) system, which is accessible to all State
users via ClassNet. All reference messages listed in this message
are available via the NCD system; they comprise an extensive body of
guidance on the use of the SIPDIS caption and related issues, as
well as the evolving capabilities of the NCD program established in

2004. END SUMMARY

Frequently Asked Questions
--------------



2. What happens when I put the SIPDIS caption on a cable?

(U) SIPDIS-captioned cables are automatically published to the NCD
website, which is accessible to all U.S. Government personnel with
access to the USG's Secret-level network known as SIPRNet.

(U) From ClassNet - http://ncd.state.sgov.gov




3. What is the benefit of using SIPDIS?

(U) Once cables are on NCD they are easily accessible through
modern, web-based technologies by several hundred thousand readers
across the government. NCD also associates a single URL with your
message, so readers can send or post links to your message to expand
your audience. It also gives readers the ability to recommend and
comment on your message, add attachments, and the system keeps track
of how many people have read it. NCD also automatically links to
reference and response cables that are in the system making it
easier to find associated messages. In short, the NCD system allows
users to apply social networking principles to traditional
diplomatic reporting messages.

(U) Posts and offices are reminded that adding the SIPDIS caption is

not a substitute for adding other agencies as an action or info
addressee on cables. Additionally, message creators are reminded of
their responsibility to ensure that substantive comments and
attachments appended to messages resident on the NCD or actions
taken based on information obtained from NCD are appropriately
preserved in official recordkeeping systems.

(U) The NCD system also ensures that SIPDIS-captioned messages are
automatically posted to Embassy or Department web pages, Diplopedia-
S (http://diplopedia.state.sgov.gov), and other websites like
Intellipedia (http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki) and search tools
like Google (http://www.intelink.sgov.gov) available on the USG's
Secret-level network. The NCD system supports Really Simply
Syndication (RSS) feeds, which allows users to identify content of
interest in the NCD system and automatically feed it to other
preferred websites or tools, e.g.,
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Stat e_Department . Most
importantly, the NCD system is available to State and interagency
users at any time from any ClassNet or SIPRNet-enabled terminal,
making it extremely easy to coordinate and share information with
your Country Team and the broader USG foreign affairs, national
security, and law enforcement communities with nothing more than a
working web browser.




4. Is SIPRNet the same as ClassNet?

(U) No. ClassNet is the State Department's secret-level intranet.
SIPRNet is the U.S. Government's Secret-level intranet. Anyone on
ClassNet can access SIPRNet, but not vice versa. Both ClassNet and
SIPRNet users can access USG enterprise services hosted by the IC
Enterprise Service group (formerly known as Intelink). ICES hosts
Intellipedia, blogs, SharePoint sites, instant messaging services,
streaming video, photo sharing, and many other applications at no
cost to the Department on the USG's Secret-level intranet.




5. What kinds of reporting should be captioned SIPDIS?

(U) Any cable that you believe should be broadly shared with other
USG agencies should be captioned SIPDIS. This will typically
include most political, economic, politico-military, or public-
affairs reporting that does not explicitly require a distribution-
limiting caption such as NODIS, EXDIS, or LIMDIS. It will generally
exclude cables that are only of interest to the addressee offices,
such as most non-policy related consular and administrative
messages. Policy guidance, demarche requests and responses, ALDACs,
travel warnings, EAC notes, terrorism reports, and a host of other
action and informational messages should also include the SIPDIS
caption. Keep in mind that most reporting cables are routinely
forwarded to the interagency community through the legacy messaging
systems even when the SIPDIS caption is not present. Adding the
SIPDIS caption simply makes it easier for personnel in these
agencies, and within the State Department, to access and utilize
these messages.




6. Can SIPDIS be used on cables marked NOFORN?

(U) Yes, absolutely. The NCD system is approved for up to
SECRET//NOFORN information and messages marked NOFORN can be SIPDIS
captioned. NCD is a U.S. Government-only information system serving
more than 40,000 registered and unregistered users around the globe,
around the clock.




7. What about personal and Privacy Act protected information?

U) Cables containing Privacy Act protected information should not be
captioned SIPDIS. This includes information such as SSNs;
information concerning employees, such as travel messages,
performance reports, and medical assessments; country clearances,
and arrest reports of American citizens; and other Personally
Identifiable Information (PII) of U.S. citizens to include, in some
instances DPOB, as well as anything a cable drafter has specifically
marked as containing privacy information. Privacy Act protected
information should be handled with due diligence because of the
increased risk of harm to an individual if it is compromised, and
should not be included in SIPDIS-captioned messages unless it is
vital to a mission or agency's need to know. Cables are
automatically scanned for easily recognizable PII and Privacy Act
protected information, so if your cable does not appear in NCD
immediately after you publish it, it might be that it contained
something that looked like it might be PII (such as the letters
"DOB") and is therefore being held in a queue awaiting human review,
normally on the next Washington business day. Guidance on PII was
sent via 08STATE112582. Additional guidance can be obtained by
contacting the Department's Privacy Office at PrivacyTeam@state.gov.




8. Can cables sent from unclassified workstations still have the
SIPDIS caption?

(U) Yes. Any State or AID cable, no matter which system it is sent
from, can carry the SIPDIS caption and will be automatically
published in NCD. In other words, SIPRNet access is not required to
share SIPDIS-captioned cables via the NCD system.




9. How long are SIPDIS cables available online?

(U) There are no plans to ever remove cables from NCD. Computer
technology is advancing fast enough to stay ahead of the anticipated
growth of the database.




10. Where can I find out more about Net-Centric Diplomacy?

(U) Extensive Quick Start and Help materials are available online -
see http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/NCD_Help.

(U) Questions can be sent to SIPDIS_Help@state.sgov.gov on ClassNet
or NCDHelp@state.gov on OpenNet.




11. Reference and NCD-related Messages

(U) SHARE YOUR PUBLIC AFFAIRS REPORTING VIA NET-CENTRIC DIPLOMACY - 08STATE120090

(U) SHARING WASHINGTON OUTBOUND CABLES - 07STATE160266

(U) SIPDIS adds RSS, Advanced Search, and Concise Displays - 06STATE175460

(U//FOUO) FURTHER GUIDANCE ON THE SIPDIS CABLE CAPTION - 06STATE89712

(U) ALLIED SHARING AND SIPRNET - 06STATE83673

(U) GUIDANCE ON THE USE OF NEW SIPRNET DISTRIBUTION CAPTION (SIPDIS) - 05STATE226504

(U) RULES OF BEHAVIOR FOR PROTECTING PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION - 08STATE112582

(U) EUR LAUNCHES INTELLIPEDIA INITIATIVE - 08STATE16668

(U) INTELLIPEDIA - AN IMPROVED TOOL FOR COMMUNICATING POLICY - 07STATE170388


12. MINIMIZE CONSIDERED.
CLINTON