Plus, State has offices in nearly every country in the world. The department faces not only an enormous network connectivity challenge but also a security risk. As a result, State officials plan to keep network operations in-house. Security Issues State, like many agencies involved in world affairs, has had trouble changing the habits it acquired during the Cold War. One relic of that period is an information technology infrastructure that is costing far too much.
State supports three distinct networks.
ClassNet is a classified network that lets diplomats transmit intelligence and diplomatic data around the world without worry of interception. OpenNet is the department's business network for sensitive but unclassified data. State's third network, which is limited mainly to employees in the Washington area, gives some workers access to the Web and e-mail connectivity. To keep the network traffic separated, many State employees in Washington have three computers at their desks. The lack of interconnectivity has become a barrier to productivity rather than an enabler.