The Secure Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet) is "a system of interconnected

computer network A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections ar ...

s used by the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of State to transmit

classified information Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to k ...

(up to and including information classified

SECRET Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

) by packet switching over the 'completely secure' environment". It also provides services such as

hypertext Hypertext is text displayed on a computer display or other electronic devices with references ( hyperlinks) to other text that the reader can immediately access. Hypertext documents are interconnected by hyperlinks, which are typicall ...

document access and

electronic mail Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...

. As such, SIPRNet is the DoD's classified version of the civilian

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...

. SIPRNet is the SECRET component of the

Defense Information Systems Network The Defense Information System Network (DISN) has been the United States Department of Defense's enterprise telecommunications network for providing data, video, and voice services for 40 years. The DISN end-to-end infrastructure is composed o ...

. Other components handle communications with other security needs, such as the

NIPRNet The Non-classified Internet Protocol (IP) Router Network (NIPRNet) is an IP network used to exchange unclassified information, including information subject to controls on distribution, among the private network's users. The NIPRNet also provide ...

, which is used for nonsecure communications, and the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System (JWICS), which is used for Top Secret communications.

Access

According to the U.S. Department of State Web Development Handbook, domain structure and naming conventions are the same as for the open internet, except for the addition of a

second-level domain In the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy, a second-level domain (SLD or 2LD) is a domain that is directly below a top-level domain (TLD). For example, in , is the second-level domain of the TLD. Second-level domains commonly refer to the organ ...

, like, e.g., "sgov" between state and gov: openforum.state.sgov.gov. Files originating from SIPRNet are marked by a header tag "SIPDIS" (SIPrnet DIStribution). A corresponding second-level domain smil.mil exists for DoD users. Access is also available to a "...small pool of trusted allies, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand...". This group (including the US) is known as the

Five Eyes The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in si ...

. SIPRNet was one of the networks accessed by

Chelsea Manning Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning; December 17, 1987) is an American activist and whistleblower. She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage ...

, convicted of leaking the video used in

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...

' " Collateral Murder" release as well as the source of the US diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks in November 2010.

Alternate names

SIPRNet and

are referred to colloquially as ''SIPPERnet'' and ''NIPPERnet'' (or simply ''sipper'' and ''nipper''), respectively.

References

External links

DISA

by the Federation of American Scientists' Intelligence Resource Program
They've Got Learning Locked Down
– article detailing U.S. Coast Guard Academy classroom being first to get access to SIPRNet
BBC Article on SIPRNet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siprnet Wide area networks Cryptography United States government secrecy Military communications of the United States

Access

Alternate names

See also

References

External links