ADOPTION OF INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY ELECTRICAL MESSAGE FORMAT STANDARD

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84M00127R000100040031-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 26, 2007
• Sequence Number: 31
• Publication Date: April 7, 1982
• Content Type: MEMO

Approved For Release 2007C18~f2WE~TADP84M00127R000100040031-0
DCI/ICS 82-4
7 April 1982
005
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director of
Director, Office of
Deputy Director, In
Director, Intellige
Central Intelligence
Community'Coordi nation
telligence Community
nce Community Staf
I
25X1
Chairman, Intel Intellige
nce Information
25X1
Handling Committee
SUBJECT: Adoption of Intelligence Community
Electrical Message Format Standard
1. Action Requested: I am attaching herewith a copy of the proposed
Intelligence Community Electrical Message Format Standard for your review
(Tab A) and a memo (Tab B) for your signature.
2. Background: In June 1981,1 NSA,
contacted me regarding a proposal that the Intelligence Conmuni ty adopt a
standard format for the interagency transmission of intelligence information
reports in electrical form. This proposal grew out of their implementation of
the WEEDER system for the handling of State cables at NSA. Experiencing
unforeseen difficulty in developing WEEDER and faced with the task of
implementing similar data bases for CIA and DOD IR's, NSA asked the Information
Handling Committee (IHC) to investigate the possibility of adopting a single
Community standard to facilitate the development of these and other similar
Community information systems. I submitted the proposal to the IHC and the
Committee approved the project in July 1981.
A technical working group was established, and a draft plan was
extensively coordinated at the working level within the Community. I am very
pleased to report that at every stage of the development of the proposal we
received enthusiastic cooperation from all elements of the Community. Repre-
sentatives of organizations involved in report generation, ADP, communications,
central reference services, and the Consolidated SAFE Project Office all
contributed.
The report of the working group was submitted to the IHC members for
agency coordination in February 1982. The proposal has now been formally
concurred in by all IC components represented on the IHC. (The sole
reservation was made by State, which concurred in principle but stated that
they could not fully comply without additional funding for some of the
programming changes which will be required of them.)
CL BY SIGNER
REVIEW ON APRIL 1988
DERIVED FROM MULTIPLE
CONFIDENTIAL
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3. I believe that the adoption and promulgation of this standard will be
an important milestone in implementing the principles embodied in your memo to
the D/DCI/RM (Tab C) wherein you stated: "Standard interfaces, formats,
protocols, and operating ground rules need to be developed that can be used for
any future systems that interchange intelligence data." The spirit of
Community cooperation which was exhibited in developing this standard and the
degree of unanimity achieved in its coordination is a significant step forward
for the Intelligence Community and should not pass unrecognized by you.
4. Recommendation: That you sign and return the attached memo, Tab B, so
that I may present it to the Committee when it meets at 1400 hours on 16 April
at the Community Headquarters Building for the express purpose of final
consideration of the standard. I have taken the liberty of suggesting that you
include in the memo some language extracted virtually verbatim from your
attached memo to the D/DCI/RM for the future guidance of the work of the
Committee. In addition, if it were possible to fit a brief appearance at the
Committee meeting into your busy schedule to deliver a few words of approbation
and encouragement, I am certain that it would greatly facilitate future
progress in overcoming these often complicated and difficult problems.
Attachments: Tabs A, B, & C
Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
CONFIDENTIAL
Approved For Release 2007/04/26: CIA-RDP84M00127R000100040031-0
 Approved For Release 2007/04/26: CIA-RDP84M00127R000100040031-0
Approved For Release 2007/04/26: CIA-RDP84M00127R000100040031-0