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DE RUEHC #0922/01 0650128 
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R 060111Z MAR 09 
FM SECSTATE WASHDC 
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS COLLECTIVE 
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 5971

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