NAO 212-14

USE OF THE INTERNET

Issued 5/30/96; Effective 5/17/96

SECTION 1. PURPOSE.

This Order provides the administrative framework for developing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) policy guidance for using the Internet and related applications tools to exchange NOAA information and data with the scientific community, the general public, other government agencies, and as an internal transport medium. It sanctions the ongoing development of specific resource and information content guidance by interdisciplinary NOAA organizational entities and empowered working groups, to be issued separately.

SECTION 2. SCOPE.

This Order shall apply to all NOAA systems or facilities connected to the Internet, regardless of location.

SECTION 3. BACKGROUND.

.01 NOAA's mission statement and the Office of Management and Budget require NOAA to disseminate its data and information to the public. NOAA's use of the Internet to reach and exchange information with its client community and other agencies has increased significantly in the last 2 years. Online services, such as the World Wide Web (WWW or "Web") greatly facilitate user access to NOAA data and information services.

.02 Using Internet, NOAA reaches a wider and more diverse user community, including NOAA and other government offices, to present and receive NOAA information products that reflect:

a. organizational information (mission statements, personnel directories);

b. theme or issue-oriented information (scientific findings);

c. service delivery (public data access, such as weather forecasts);

d. rulemaking and enforcement (fish landings and catch allocations);

e. business practices (travel, procurement action status); and

f. everyday communications (e-mail).

.03 NOAA held a Web Workshop in June 1995 to review Web practices, discuss issues, and present various Home Pages. In July 1995, NOAA's Office of Policy and Strategic Planning completed a policy review of Home Pages and made recommendations for enhancing the quality and effectiveness of those pages. In October 1995, a group of NOAA Web experts prepared a report for the Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere that analyzes Web issues and presented recommendations. Subsequent policy guidance based upon the recommendations of that report will be coordinated through the Office of the Under Secretary and follow-on designated working groups.

.04 NOAA has established campus networks with direct Internet access points and has developed grass roots working groups that deal with the physical connections, associated addressing and network management issues.

.05 Other NOAA policy has been developed to ensure NOAA network resources are protected from outsider abuse that is possible when NOAA's networks are opened to the general public and others through the Internet.

.06 To achieve maximum Internet utility, NOAA's Internet policy guidance shall focus on management of (1) corporate information resources as an asset, and (2) information content, services, and dissemination requirements.

SECTION 4. POLICY/OBJECTIVES.

.01 NOAA shall establish a consistent corporate presence on the Internet that maintains a user focus, ensures basic standards of information quality and presentation, and promotes hierarchical data access and query mechanisms.

.02 NOAA shall use the Internet to exchange information with the public and internally as an additional enterprise tool to conduct daily government business.

.03 NOAA's Internet access shall be achieved using standard, commonly available tools.

.04 NOAA's Internet communications represent just one of a number of tools and alternative communications networks available to NOAA, and Internet use is subject to the basic guidance, management, and quality controls that apply to other information dissemination activities. The Internet may not be the appropriate transport medium for some applications depending on security, availability, and performance issues.

.05 NOAA's Internet policy guidance shall be flexible and necessarily informal due to the dynamic nature of the Internet. With that in mind, NOAA's Internet policy guidance will serve as a framework rather than convey a strict set of regulations, particularly where evolving operating policy is being developed by working groups.

.06 NOAA's Internet services represent a corporate resource that must be managed in a consistent and cost-effective manner. NOAA shall establish guidelines for accountability and responsibility for Internet services that address both management of resources and management of information content.

a. Resource Management includes Internet access acquisitions, naming services, security, interconnectivity standards, et al.

b. Information Management encompasses accountability and responsibility for Internet information products, style and editorial standards for Home Pages, information currency, linkage among sources of information sources, with respect both to organization, content, and analysis of data quality and user satisfaction.

c. Appropriate working groups will develop and maintain specific detailed guidance.

SECTION 5. RESPONSIBILITIES.

.01 The Senior Official for Information Resources Management (SOIRM):

a. defines policies for sharing and disseminating information;

b. approves telecommunications and network interoperability standards;

c. issues resource management policy guidance for managing NOAA's information resources;

d. issues policy guidance for Internet information content that supports administrative business practices; and

e. issues policy guidance for NOAA's network security.

.02 The Network Advisory Review Board (NARB):

a. serves as a forum for discussing and coordinating resource and information management issues; and

b. reports to and advises the Deputy Under Secretary on significant resource and information management issues.

.03 The Information Systems Office (ISO):

a. promulgates network security policy and guidelines;

b. promulgates electronic mail and network address management policy;

c. coordinates Internet access points with appropriate NOAA Network Information and Operations Centers;

d. participates in the development of electronic information content policies; and

e. coordinates with Administrative Support Centers and other key administrative offices to standardize Internet data exchanges containing administrative and business information.

.04 The Office of Environmental Information Services (EIS), National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Services (NESDIS):

a. coordinates and oversees NOAA-wide activities to improve data information management; and

b. coordinates the policy-making body representing NOAA line organizations to resolve issues related to NOAA's Internet Information Services, specifically those concerning content.

.05 LOs/SOs/POs:

a. determine what data shall be presented on the Internet;

b. ensure system security for systems under their purview;

c. ensure the quality of Internet information; and

d. inform ISO of Internet connections according to formal IRM guidance.

SECTION 6. PROCEDURES/REQUIREMENTS.

.01 NOAA shall coordinate its Internet infrastructure, including communications access, Internet names, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, and Domain Name Services for economy and security reasons. More details are presented in subchapter 212-14.1, Internet Services Resource Management.

.02 NOAA shall commit to establishing a coherent and recognizable presence on the Internet as reflected in a fundamental set of presentation standards that address style and format elements, and quality of information content. Basic principles of accountability and responsibility apply to electronic data dissemination and use of discovery tools such as the Web. To ensure adequate consistency and utility of NOAA's information resources, guidelines addressing format, registration, and maintenance of Home Page links are to be presented separately in an Internet Information Dissemination subchapter pending further detailed analysis and management guidance.

SECTION 7. DEFINITIONS.

.01 Internet. The public, global information system comprising a world-wide network of networks logically linked together by a unique address space based on the Internet Protocol and able to support communications using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). In this NAO, the term refers to systems outside NOAA's domain.

.02 Home Page. The initial information set a user receives when establishing communications with a Web host site.

.03 World Wide Web (WWW). A point-and-click technology developed by CERN (the European Laboratory for Particle Physics) and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) researchers that uses a standard communications protocol called Hyper-Text Transport Protocol (HTTP) for easy transfer of multimedia information across the Internet through matched client-server pairs.

SECTION 8. REFERENCES.

.01 Department Administrative Order 212-2, Management of Information Technology, describing the Senior Official for Information Resources Management's responsibilities.

.02 NOAA Administrative Orders (NAOs):

a. NAO 212-10, Telecommunications Planning, Acquisition, and Management, dated August 13, 1992, describing how to acquire and manage telecommunications resources.

b. NAO 212-12A, Telecommunications Standards: NOAA Interoperability Profile, dated July 16, 1993, delineating the technical standards and protocols to assure interoperability among NOAA systems.

c. NAO 212-12B, Telecommunications Standards: Names, Addresses, and Gateways in Electronic Mail Systems, dated September 24, 1993, citing general standards, procedures and organizational responsibility for coordination of electronic names applied to NOAA networks, systems and users.

d. NAO 212-13, Information Technology Security Management, dated August 6, 1990, describing NOAA's IT Security Program, requirements and procedures for NOAA organizations and systems managers.

.03 Informal NOAA guidance:

a. The New NOAA IT Planning System, Part 3, issued by the Information Systems Office, IRM Staff, dated March 7, 1995, describing NOAA's IT planning guidelines and Information Resources Management requirements.

b. Requirements Analysis: Telecommunications and ADP Security Branch IT Policy Guidance, Telecommunications, Procurement Analysis for Internet Access, dated March 13, 1995, discussing clearances, reviews, rationales, and delegations necessary to acquire various telecommunications services.

c. Report to the NOAA Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere on Internet Information Policy, draft, prepared by the Internet Information Policy Task Group, draft dated October 16, 1995, providing background information on Web use in NOAA, recommendations for improved management and coordination.

d. Memorandum from Eric Dolan and Pat Mulligan of the Office of Policy and Strategic Planning, to Diana H. Josephson, Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, Subject: Home Page Analysis and Policy, dated July 28, 1995, discussing the basic principles underlying NOAA's Internet Information Services.

e. Memorandum from James W. Brennan, Deputy General Counsel for NOAA, to Diana H. Josephson, Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, Subject: NMFS Office Directors' Discussion Paper: Use of Internet by Headquarters Employees, Summer 1995, a white paper outlining responsibilities and liabilities associated with electronic information dissemination.

.04 Underlying Authorities:

a. Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-130, Management of Federal Information Resources, Sections 8a. and 8b., Transmittal Memorandum No. 2 dated July 15, 1994, establishing the scope and policies for information dissemination by the Federal Government.

b. Acts of Congress:

1. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, stating the requirement to make information available to the public and mandating a structure for Information Resources Management.

2. The Privacy Act, as amended, 15 U.S.C., 552a., constraining information dissemination by defining safeguards to protect the privacy of individuals.

c. Freedom of Information Act, 15 C.F.R., Part 4, and Department of Commerce Administrative Order 205-12, requiring public access to Federal Government information.

d. The Computer Security Act, 40 U.S.C., 759 note, formalizing agencies responsibilities and requirements in terms of assuring security of Government data and systems.

SECTION 9. EFFECT ON OTHER ISSUANCES.

None.

SIGNED,
Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative Officer

Office of Primary Interest:
   Office of Finance and Administration
   Information Systems Office
   Systems Division
   Telecommunications and ADP Security Branch