It is time to evaluate governmental diplomacy in a post-WikiLeaks world.
In case you’ve been away from Earth, the controversial WikiLeaks site released more than 250,000 confidential diplomatic cables
from more than 270 US embassies around the world. Although the contents of the cables were not top secret, they did include diplomatic transmissions that took aim at several countries and prominent figures and were not meant for public consumption.
As expected, reactions to the leaked documents were rabid on both sides of the debate. Some said that the leaked information was damaging to the United States, while others welcomed the release, saying that the leak forced the government to be held accountable for its actions.
No matter which side you took, WikiLeaks provided undeniable evidence that, behind the scenes, diplomacy is a winner-take-all game that greatly influences the lives of people around the globe.
That’s precisely why Diplopedia, a Wikipedia of sorts for the US government to aid in diplomatic efforts, is such a fascinating tool.
Launched in September 2006, Diplopedia runs on the US Department of State’s internal intranet, OpenNet. Access to Diplopedia is restricted to State Department employees; the public cannot see or access the service.
Diplopedia is meant to be a place where members of the State Department can collaborate on “all topics of interest,” away from the public’s prying eyes. The service isn’t meant to be confidential, but it is meant to be an internal resource.
Since its launch, Diplopedia has grown exponentially. Starting with just a few documents on a few servers four years ago, it now has approximately 13,000 articles “written and edited by Department of State” employees.
Chris Bronk, the fellow for IT policy at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, was instrumental in establishing Diplopedia. When he recently spoke with me about the service, he said it is “designed to be the internal knowledge repository for the entire State Department.” He said that it has made the jobs of government employees much easier.
The existence of Diplopedia raises the question of why the State Department needs several different means of sharing information when, at least so far, Diplopedia’s confidentiality holds up, while giving employees most of the background they require to do their jobs.
Indeed, Diplopedia has become the go-to source, Bronk said, for everything from protocol on handling motorcades to information on writing Congressionally mandated reports. In essence, the wiki is no different than internal content databases any company might make available to employees to provide them with resources on what’s expected of them and how they should perform the duties of their jobs.
According to Bronk, Diplopedia features a sub-portal for country desk officers, a know-it-all source in embassies around the world, and a primer for diplomats (and others) entering new positions. Bronk said that the sub-portal provides all the information that employees need to help them get up and running in their positions as quickly as possible.
For example, Diplopedia might not have “exhaustive information about Italy,” Bronk said in the interview, “but it could have exhaustive information about European Union issues related to Italy that State Department people need to think about.”
Diplopedia might not boast the international intrigue that the WikiLeaks documents offered (Bronk says Diplopedia isn’t “sexy or exciting”), but it plays a key role in how State Department officials perform their daily tasks. And it has quickly become a central resource in the international efforts those folks partake in each and every day.
Moreover, Diplopedia effectively shows that there is a resource available to the State Department that can allow employees to share information -- without getting on a highly confidential network to do it. And in a post-WikiLeaks world, that’s important.
— Don Reisinger is a technology and video game columnist.
"A real problem ongoing to keep what should be secret, secret."
This will continue to be a challenge. Although advances in technology (RMS, DLP, etc) is improving things, the disparate systems across gov depts is a hindrance.
The availability of information is crucial as pointed out by robjvargas, and this attribute probably outweigh the potential risk of information being leaked.
That's a really interesting post. I find it interesting that Diplopedia does not attempt to provide 100% security, although it is designed for an internal network, as you point out.
It appears to be an effective tool for information sharing, with the understanding that it is a public, non-secured communication channel.
It makes sense to have well designated channels that are then managed according to their function, i.e., secured, communication sharing, etc.
I think WikiLeaks is likely to have distorted the whole picture.
Yes, if it can be broken it probably will at some point. At what info might be on the network will be different tomorrow, inviting attacks from new entities that may now have a greater interest in the current postings.
A real problem ongoing to keep what should be secret, secret.
Why does the NSA assume network compromise? It seems to me that paranoia is a major facet of their job. It *may* result from experience, but it could as easily be a perfectly normal assumption to make so as to assure maximum security of the information under their care.
So, maybe they assume it because it's their job to assume it.
The NSA assumes their network are compromised automatically, something that everyone should consider. Also, internal access is quite different from external Wiki-style access.
Don stated that Diplopedia is only accessible via the State Department intranet, OpenNet. So I don't see any security hole here that isn't already present without Diplopedia.
Having everything congregating in one database is making life a whole lot easier for the bad guys. SaaS databases on virtual servers are a similar problem. Not sure what the answer is. But once subverted, the attacker has the keys to the kingdom.
Doesn't it just seem like this becomes a one-stop shop for hackers, though? Sort of like, "Greetings, WikiLeaks. All of the sensitive information you seek is here. We have created a series of protections to challenge you as you ultimately secure the data inside."
If not, and it's protected from the public, it seems like it would be a useless tool and really contain information that could be Google'd.
Even more than that. Is anything served by (just making up this example) calling French President Sarkozy a narcissist? At the same time, if he IS a narcissist, isn't it important that diplomatic representatives know this?
There are valid reasons for diplomatic employees to be this blunt with each other, and also to have it kept private.
Cables and similar types of messages are time-honored and time-tested as a way to distribute information within and among government offices. I can see why they are still in use.
I imagine they aren't going away anytime soon. Let's hope someone, at least, is working on it.
It always scares me when information like this gets out -- though its nice to hear diplomacy is moving forward, some of this stuff just isnn't meant for public consumption, as it could be taken the wrong way or do more harm than good
The ThinkerNet does not reflect the views of TechWeb. The ThinkerNet is an informal means of communication to members and visitors of the Internet Evolution site. Individual authors are chosen by Internet Evolution to blog. Neither Internet Evolution nor TechWeb assume responsibility for comments, claims, or opinions made by authors and ThinkerNet bloggers. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
When Twitter launched, the social network was a place for people to share random thoughts on any topic. In fact, it was often criticized for featuring tweets that included only basic information about what a person was doing at the time. “Eating a sandwich” was the kind of tweet critics commonly cited.
With the US debt super committee failing to reach an agreement last month and mandatory costs of about $1 trillion looming, defense IT is now in the crosshairs.
When it comes to online crime, there are several groups, including content creators, that say it’s a bane to our existence. However, there are others who, though acknowledging that crime exists, believe that trying to aggressively pursue the criminals might infringe on the rights of the innocent.
If one were to poll the world’s consumers about Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and its many business exploits, nearly everyone would say it is competing in search and advertising. They might also say Google is involved in the mobile space, thanks to its Android operating system.
Over the past few years, lobbying has taken center stage in US politics. People on both sides of the aisle have tried to limit the impact lobbyists have on government officials.
The FBI recently issued a warning to smartphone users, highlighting two mobile malware applications: Loozfan, which steals personal information, and FinFisher, which is spyware that takes over a smartphone's functions.
It wouldn't be the first time, but a group of Chinese engineers has proposed a means by which the Internet's root could be split, enabling secondary, independent networks that could be government-controlled. The Internet's root security committee is taking such proposals seriously.
Recently, security software supplier Kaspersky identified Win32.Flame as malicious code that seems to have been developed, not by hackers, but by government agencies. Warring nations may set aside their bombs and wage their wars online.
The plan for unmanned police drones to patrol traffic and other city conditions in Seattle has sparked a new set of legal concerns about privacy. Law traditionally lags technology, but we can expect now to see a new round of activity in the courts as legal definitions begin to emerge on what "next-gen privacy" will look like.
US counterterrorism expert Richard Clarke, who came to prominence with his prescient warnings before the 9/11 attacks, tells Smithsonian Magazine the US was responsible for the Stuxnet supersmart worm that attacked parts of nuclear reactors in Iran – and in the process, has given away one of the world's most sophisticated cyberweapons.
Malware designed to infect Google Android smartphones has increased dramatically, and now the government is stepping in. The National Security Agency has developed SE Android, a system that tries to close up its security holes.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
Subsidized handsets, rather than locked handsets, should be the focus of regulators. We're not getting good deals, not fostering innovation, and weakening our power as buyers.
Expert Integrated Systems: Changing the Experience & Economics of IT In this e-book, we take an in-depth look at these expert integrated systems -- what they are, how they work, and how they have the potential to help CIOs achieve dramatic savings while restoring IT's role as business innovator. READ THIS eBOOK
your weekly update of news, analysis, and
opinion from Internet Evolution - FREE! REGISTER HERE
Wanted! Site Moderators Internet Evolution is looking for a handful of readers to help moderate the message boards on our site – as well as engaging in high-IQ conversation with the industry mavens on our thinkerNet blogosphere. The job comes with various perks, bags of kudos, and GIANT bragging rights. Interested?
To save this item to your list of favorite Internet Evolution content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
Email This
