LETTER (Sanitized) [re COINS]

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79M00096A000400030001-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 8, 2004
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: November 15, 1974
• Content Type: LETTER

Approved For SEC !??fA-RDP79M00096AO00400030001-9
Ref. IHC-MM-18/74, dated
18 October 1974
Chairman, IHC, USIB
As I discussed with attached is a description 25X1
of what COINS is all about and a list o the files in the system.
With the change of the sponsorship of COINS to the DCI, the
present inventory description appears to be alright. As you know,
the PMO doesn't have any intelligence files in COINS per-se'
and too the files are continually changing. In all probability by
the time you go to press with your inventory the list of files
currently in COINS will need updating. To do this all you have
to do is have your CIA user support people query the system using
the query included with the attached list of files. For additional
information on a particular file just insert the file acronym in
the place of the "(file)" part of the query. Also, we can provide
you with a Users Guide on any of the files you may want still
further information.
25X1
COINS roject Manager
.,UNCLASSIFIED
Approved For Release 2004/09/23 : CIA-RDP79M00096AO00400030001-9
 THIS ITEM IS: *** CONFIDENTIAL ***
Approved For Release 2004/09/23 : CIA-RDP79M00096AO00400030001-9
SUBJECT: COINS TOC DATE: 740101
*********** WELCOME TO COINS ***********
THE COMMUNITY ON-LINE INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM (COINS) WAS BEGUN IN 1965
FOLLOWING THE PRESIDENT'S APPROVAL OF RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE
PRESIDENT'S FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE ADVISORY BOARD TO IMPROVE THE
EXCHANGE OF INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION AMONG INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY
MEMBERS. THE DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE WAS GIVEN THE RESPON-
SIBILITY FOR IMPLEMENTING COINS, AND HE I N TURN APPOINTED THE
DIRECTOR OF NSA AS THE PROJECT'S EXECUTIVE AGENT. FOR THE FIRST
SEVEN YEARS OF ITS EXISTENCE COINS WAS KNOWN AS THE COINS EXPER-
IMENT. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE COINS EVALUATION GROUP'S WORK I N
FEBRUARY 1973, THE WORD 'EXPERIMENT' WAS DROPPED FROM THE COINS
1 LRFI tNn THE FUNCTION OF PROJECT EXECUTIVE AGENT WAS TRANSFERRED
ATFROM THE DIRECTOR, NSA TO THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE 'OX
INTELLIGENCE PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR COINS HAS BEEN
25X UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THOSE DESIRING
COINS RELATED INFORMATION SHOULD CALL ON EITHER
25XITHE SECURE SYSTEM OR 0 ON THE GENERAL USE SYSTEM.
COINS IS A NETWORK OF COMMUNITY COMPUTER-BASED INFORMATION
RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS THAT HAVE BEEN INTERCONNECTED FOR INTERAGENCY
SHARING OF MACHINE FORMATTED FILES. THE SYSTEM HAS EVOLVED AS A
COOPERATIVE EFFORT AMONG THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES AND REPRESENTS A
SIGNIFICANT FORWARD STEP IN THE CONTINUING EFFORT TO IMPROVE THE
EXCHANGE OF INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION. STARTING FIRST IN THE WASH-
INGTON VICINITY, COINS HAS GRADUALLY EXTENDED ITS GEOGRAPHIC SERVICE
AREA AND HAS GREAT POTENTIAL FOR WORLD-WIDE APPLICATIONS.
COINS ENABLES ON-LINE INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS
AT DIA AND THE NATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERPRETATION CENTER (NPIC)
AND THE REMOTE BATCH PROCESSING SYSTEM AT NSA TO INTERACT THROUGH A
COMPUTER ERIVEN 'STORE AND FORWARD' SWITCH OPERATED BY DIA. NETWORK
SERVICE IS PROVIDED OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH USER
TERMINALS CONNECTED TO EITHER THE DIA, NPIC9 OR NSA SYSTEMS. THE
COINS NETWORK ALSO INTERFACES WITH THE INTELLIGENCE DATA HANDLING
SYSTEM (IDHS) THROUGH THE DIA NETWORK SWITCH TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO
USERS SUCH AS THE CONTINENTAL AIR DEFENSE COMMAND (CONAD) AND THE
PACIFIC COMMAND (PACOM).
CIA PROVIDES AND MAINTAINS SEVERAL FILES FOR COINS9 BUT THESE
FILES RESIDE IN THE NSA SYSTEM.
"w COINS NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS CIRCUITS ARE EQUIPPED WITH CRYPTO-
GRAPHIC DEVICES THAT PERMIT TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION CLASSIFIED
9w UP TO TOP SECRET/SPECIAL INTELLIGENCE/TK. PERSONS HAVING PROPER
SECURITY CLEARANCES CAN ACCESS COINS FILES THROUGH TERMINALS I N
THEIR OWN AGENCIES.
COINS GIVES USERS IN PARTICIPATING AGENCIES DIRECT ACCESS TO
9r
FILES COVERING A BROAD RANGE OF INTELLIGENCE SUBJECTS. THESE FILES
ARE MAINTAINED IN THE COMPUTER SYSTEMS OF THE SEVARAL AGENCIES AND
ARE ACCESSIBLE TO OTHER AGENCY USERS THROUGH REMOTE ACCESS TERMINALS
LOCATED I N THEIR OPERATIONAL AREAS. THIS INTERACTION OF INFORMATION
STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS IN THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES IMPROVES
T1 4F TI MF1.I NESS OF INFORMATION EXCHANGE. ALLOWS GREATER SELECTIVITY
ON IN t. PAHI UN THE AGENCIES IN BUILDING THEIR OWN INFORMATION PILES,
AND PROVIDES CAPABILITIES AND FEATURES NOT HERETOFORE AVAILABLE VIA
TRADITIONAL METHODS OF FILE ACCESS.
COINS IS INCREASINGLY USED BY INTELLIGENCE ANALYSTS I N SUPPORT
OF OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS. IT HAS ALLOWED THE DISCONTINUATION OF SOME
DAILY REPORTING AND HAS MADE AVAILABLE TO THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY
ON-LINE, CERTAIN BIBLIOGRAPHIC, ORDER OF BATTLE, AND ACTIVITY FILES
THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY DIRECTLY ACCESSIBLE ONLY BY THE SPONSORING
AGENCY . THUS , COINS IS A DOOR FOR USERS TO OPEN TO A WEALTH OF
INFORMATION WHICH SHOULD HELP THEM BECOME BO_TH._ MORE EFFICIENT AND
MORE EFFECTIVE I N THE PERFORMANCE OF THEIR MISSIONS.
********** CONFIDENTIAL **********
25X1
25X1
Approved For Release 2004/09/23 : CIA-RDP79M00096AO00400030001-9
 25X1 Approved For Release 2004/09/23 : CIA-RDP79M00096AO00400030001-9
Next 4 Page(s) In Document Exempt
Approved For Release 2004/09/23 : CIA-RDP79M00096AO00400030001-9
 AP
roved For Release 2004/09/23 CIA-RDP79M00096A000400030001-9
I~; T ELLIG FNCF INF0Fit M.A.TIC) ANDLINC; c0MMlTTEE
ofr i
SJNITED STATES BOAS D
T EC
i~ 1. `" M"` - 1 S ,1 % d-
SUBJEC'.i In-vventory of Community Information
Handling Systems
I.; The Inventory of Intelligence Data Handling Systems
which was last published in July 1.972, is being updated and
restructured to serve the needs of the Director of Central
Intelligence and the Intelligence Community Staff as well as
the members of the intelligence community at large. The new
version of the Inventory will be updated annually with changes
published in a form which will point up new information so that
users may readily identify developments of interest to them.
2 An interagency task group composed of analysts and
systems perscn.nel from CIA, DIA and the Information Science
Center assisted by the IUC Support Staff,, prepared an outline
for the Inventory publication in which systems will be grouped
functionally by whether they arc used primarily to:
a. store and retrieve substantive data;
b. support intelligence analysis -and data
manipulation; or
c. serve for intelligence data communications;,
A fourth group of systems, those outside the intelligence commu,l itj
which interface with community systems, has also been set up.
(See Attachment 1..)
3. In addition to the brief descriptions of systems, pro-
vision is made for presenting; descriptions of their compo gent
data files and applications soft :are, (See Attachmen 2.) i'iius,
although the new Inventory will be compact. in form, it wi 1
present an =II--Creased]