Federal civilian · Moraph software

Diplomatic Cable Archive & Search

Find the historical record behind a current issue, and see only what you are cleared to see

Overview

What you are buying

Diplomatic Cable Archive & Search indexes decades of diplomatic reporting so officers can search by meaning as well as by keyword, and find earlier cables, memoranda and reporting on a country, issue or negotiation. Every document carries its classification, caveats and handling markings, and search results are filtered by each user's clearance and need to know before anything is shown. Summaries and suggested related documents cite their sources, and every search and view is recorded for records and security staff.

The problem it solves

Foreign affairs agencies hold decades of cables and reporting that bear directly on current decisions, but much of it is hard to find. Older holdings sit in separate archives with inconsistent metadata, keyword search misses documents that describe the same issue in different words, and officers often rely on colleagues' memory of what was reported before. Access rules make this harder: a search tool that ignores classification, caveats and need to know cannot be used, and one that applies them inconsistently creates risk.

  • Historical reporting is spread across archives with inconsistent metadata and formats
  • Keyword search misses documents that use different terms for the same issue
  • Access controls for classification, caveats and need to know are applied unevenly across tools
  • There is little record of who searched for and read sensitive holdings

Who uses it

  • Foreign affairs agencies and their regional and functional bureaus
  • Desk officers, analysts and policy staff who need historical context
  • Records management and historian offices that maintain the archive
  • Information security and classification management staff
  • Inspectors general and oversight staff who review access

Requirements it supports

Executive Order 13526, Classified National Security InformationClassified national security information directive (32 CFR Part 2001)Controlled Unclassified Information program (32 CFR Part 2002)Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 31) and NARA records management regulations (36 CFR Chapter XII, Subchapter B)Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552)Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a)

The product supports these requirements; meeting them remains your organization’s responsibility.

See how it works

A short walkthrough

Illustrative screens with fictional sample data. They show the workflow, not any client’s data or configuration, and the layout of the product itself differs. A live demonstration uses the product with sample data.

  1. Step 1

    Search results

    A search by meaning returns reporting on the same issue in different words, each result shown with its markings, filtered to what the user may see.

    DocumentDateOriginatorSubjectMarking
    Cable EXAMPLE-0001 (fictional)Sample dateEmbassy Example CityRiver basin talks resumeUNCLASSIFIED
    Cable EXAMPLE-0047 (fictional)Sample dateEmbassy Example CityMinistry views on dam projectCUI
    Memo EXAMPLE-M-12 (fictional)Sample dateExample Regional BureauBackground on the 1990s accordUNCLASSIFIED
    Cable EXAMPLE-0112 (fictional)Sample dateConsulate Example TownLocal reaction to water shortagesCUI
    A search by meaning returns reporting on the same issue in different words, each result shown with its markings, filtered to what the user may see.
  2. Step 2

    Reading a document

    Each document shows its markings, origin and handling, with related reporting the user is entitled to see.

    Cable EXAMPLE-0047 (fictional) · Ministry views on dam project

    Marking
    CUI
    Originator
    Embassy Example City
    Date
    Sample date
    Subject tags
    Water, infrastructure, Country A
    Text source
    Digital original

    Related reporting

    • Cable EXAMPLE-0001 · River basin talks resume
    • Memo EXAMPLE-M-12 · Background on the 1990s accord
    • Cable EXAMPLE-0112 · Local reaction to water shortages
    Each document shows its markings, origin and handling, with related reporting the user is entitled to see.
  3. Step 3

    A cited summary

    A summary of selected documents is labeled as machine-generated, and every statement links back to the document it came from.

    Draft summary · 4 documents · Machine-generated

    Documents summarized
    4
    Highest marking
    CUI
    Requested by
    Searcher

    Summary points (with sources)

    • Talks on the river basin resumed after a long pause [EXAMPLE-0001]
    • Ministry officials raised concerns about downstream flow [EXAMPLE-0047]
    • The earlier accord left allocation in dry years unresolved [EXAMPLE-M-12]
    • !Check against sources before use
    A summary of selected documents is labeled as machine-generated, and every statement links back to the document it came from.
  4. Step 4

    Marking review queue

    Documents with missing or inconsistent markings are held out of search until a classification reviewer resolves them.

    DocumentSourceIssueHeld sinceReviewer
    Scan EXAMPLE-S-3301Microfilm series (sample)Banner marking unreadable5 daysUnassigned
    Cable EXAMPLE-0218Archive transfer (sample)Portion markings missing3 daysClassification reviewer
    Cable EXAMPLE-0220Archive transfer (sample)Unrecognized caveat3 daysClassification reviewer
    Memo EXAMPLE-M-40User reportReported as over-marked1 dayUnassigned
    Documents with missing or inconsistent markings are held out of search until a classification reviewer resolves them.
  5. Step 5

    Need-to-know groups

    Access managers see who belongs to each group and approve changes; a second manager approves changes to their own access.

    Need-to-know group · Example Regional Working Group (fictional)

    Members
    38
    Pending requests
    2
    Last certified
    Sample date
    Owner
    Access manager

    Pending requests

    • User 4471 · requested by supervisor · clearance eligible
    • !User 5108 · clearance attribute does not meet group requirement
    Access managers see who belongs to each group and approve changes; a second manager approves changes to their own access.
  6. Step 6

    Access activity record

    Every search, view and access change is recorded, so security and audit staff can follow what happened.

    Activity record · Cable EXAMPLE-0047 (fictional)

    1. Document ingested and markings recordedArchivist
    2. Released to search after reviewClassification reviewer
    3. Returned in search results and viewedSearcher
    4. Included in cited summary draftSearcher
    5. Added to shared collectionSearcher
    Every search, view and access change is recorded, so security and audit staff can follow what happened.

Workflows

The principal workflows

  1. Ingest

    Cables and related documents are loaded from existing archives with their markings, metadata and dates, and checked before they become searchable.

    • Documents received from the source archive by scheduled transfer
    • Classification, caveats, handling and declassification markings read and recorded as access attributes
    • Documents with missing or inconsistent markings held for review
    • Text extracted, including optical character recognition for scanned holdings
    • Approved documents indexed for keyword and meaning-based search
  2. Search

    Officers search by keyword, by meaning, or by country, post, subject and date. Access rules are applied before results are returned, so documents a user is not entitled to see are not shown or counted.

    • User searches with words, a question or a reference document
    • User's clearance, caveats and need-to-know groups checked against each candidate document
    • Results ranked and shown with markings, date and originating post
    • Filters narrow results by country, subject, date range or document type
    • Search recorded in the audit trail
  3. Review and build context

    Users read documents, follow related reporting, and assemble a reading list or chronology on an issue. Machine-generated summaries are proposals that cite the documents they come from.

    • User opens a document with its markings displayed
    • Related documents suggested, each filtered by the same access rules
    • Optional summary of a set of documents drafted with citations to each source
    • User saves documents to a collection or chronology with notes
    • Collection shared only with users entitled to every document in it
  4. Govern access

    Records and security staff manage who can see what, review marking issues, and watch for unusual access, under your agency's policies.

    • Need-to-know groups and their members maintained by authorized staff
    • Marking discrepancies and requests for re-marking reviewed by classification staff
    • Declassification and downgrading decisions recorded when made by your authorities
    • Unusual search or viewing patterns surfaced for security staff review
    • Access reviews run and certified periodically

Roles and permissions

Who does what in the product

Each role below is a starting point. During implementation we set them up to match your teams, and every action anyone takes is recorded in the audit trail.

Searcher

Desk officer, political or economic officer, analyst, policy staff

Finds historical reporting relevant to their work, within what their clearance and need to know allow.

Sees

  • Documents that match their clearance, caveats and need-to-know groups
  • Markings on every document and excerpt
  • Their own collections and those shared with them

Does

  • Searches by keyword, meaning, field or reference document
  • Reads documents and follows related reporting
  • Requests a cited summary of a set of documents and checks it against the sources
  • Builds and shares collections and chronologies with entitled colleagues
  • Reports a document that appears to be mis-marked

Cannot

  • See or learn of documents outside their access, including through result counts or suggestions
  • Change markings or metadata
  • Share a collection with someone not entitled to every document in it
Approvals
Their access to need-to-know groups is approved by an access manager; exports follow your agency's handling rules.
Notified about
Collections shared with them, and new documents added to saved searches they follow.

Archivist

Records officer, archivist, records management specialist

Brings holdings into the archive with accurate metadata and manages them under your records schedules.

Sees

  • Ingestion batches and their status
  • Document metadata and text extraction quality
  • Retention schedules and holds

Does

  • Schedules and monitors ingestion from source archives
  • Corrects metadata such as dates, posts and subjects
  • Flags low-quality text extraction for rescanning
  • Applies retention schedules and records holds
  • Prepares disposition lists for approval

Cannot

  • Change classification or caveat markings
  • See document content above their own clearance and need to know
  • Dispose of records without approval
Approvals
Disposition of records follows your agency's approved schedules and is approved by the records officer of record.
Notified about
Ingestion failures, documents held for marking review, and retention actions due.

Classification reviewer

Classification management specialist, declassification reviewer

Keeps markings accurate and records declassification and downgrading decisions made by authorized officials.

Sees

  • Documents held for marking review, within their clearance
  • Reported marking issues
  • Declassification history on each document

Does

  • Reviews and corrects markings on held documents
  • Releases reviewed documents to search
  • Records declassification, downgrading and release decisions with their authority
  • Responds to marking issues reported by users

Cannot

  • Make a declassification decision the system has not been given by an authorized official
  • Review documents above their own clearance
  • Change their own access
Approvals
Declassification and downgrading decisions are recorded with the authority that made them; the system does not make or approve them.
Notified about
New documents held for review and marking issues reported by users.

Access manager

Information security officer, special access program coordinator, access control officer

Controls who belongs to each need-to-know group and approves access in line with your agency's security policy.

Sees

  • Need-to-know groups and their members
  • Users' recorded clearance and caveat attributes
  • Pending access requests

Does

  • Creates and maintains need-to-know groups
  • Approves or declines access requests
  • Removes access when a user's role or clearance changes
  • Runs and certifies periodic access reviews

Cannot

  • Grant themselves access to a group
  • Change a user's clearance level, which comes from your authoritative personnel security source
  • Read documents outside their own access
Approvals
Changes to their own access are approved by another access manager.
Notified about
New access requests, users whose clearance attributes changed, and access reviews due.

Security reviewer

Insider threat analyst, security officer, counterintelligence liaison

Reviews search, viewing and export activity for patterns that need follow-up under your agency's procedures.

Sees

  • Search, view and export activity records
  • Activity reports and patterns surfaced for review
  • Metadata of documents accessed, not their content unless separately entitled

Does

  • Reviews surfaced patterns and records a disposition
  • Runs activity reports for a user or document series
  • Refers matters to your agency's security process

Cannot

  • Change access, markings or documents
  • Read document content without separate entitlement
  • Delete activity records
Approvals
Referrals follow your agency's security procedures outside the system.
Notified about
New patterns surfaced for review.

Auditor (read-only)

Inspector general staff, internal auditor

Confirms that access, marking and records controls operate as described.

Sees

  • Access records, group membership history and access reviews
  • Marking review and declassification history
  • The audit trail within the scope granted

Does

  • Searches and reads audit records in scope
  • Reruns reports as of a past date
  • Exports audit records, with each export logged

Cannot

  • Change anything
  • Read document content without separate entitlement
  • Keep access after it expires
Approvals
Their access is approved by an access manager, with a scope and an end date.
Notified about
Nothing by default.

Administrator

Application administrator, systems administrator

Manages configuration, reference data and integrations without access to document content.

Sees

  • Configuration, reference data and integration status
  • User accounts and role assignments
  • System health and ingestion job status

Does

  • Maintains reference data such as posts, subjects and marking vocabularies
  • Maps users from single sign-on and assigns roles as instructed
  • Monitors integrations and ingestion jobs
  • Runs access review reports

Cannot

  • Read document content
  • Add users to need-to-know groups
  • Edit audit records
Approvals
Role assignments that grant governance roles are approved by an access manager.
Notified about
Integration failures and accounts not used for a period your policy sets.

Permissions at a glance

ActionSearcherArchivistClass. reviewAccess mgrSecurityAuditorAdmin
Search and read documentsOwn work onlyOwn work onlyOwn work onlyOwn work onlyNo accessNo accessNo access
Build and share collectionsOwn work onlyOwn work onlyOwn work onlyNo accessNo accessNo accessNo access
Request cited summariesOwn work onlyNo accessOwn work onlyNo accessNo accessNo accessNo access
Ingest documents and edit metadataNo accessFullNo accessNo accessNo accessNo accessNo access
Correct markings and release held documentsNo accessNo accessFullNo accessNo accessNo accessNo access
Record declassification decisionsNo accessNo accessFullNo accessNo accessView onlyNo access
Manage need-to-know groupsNo accessNo accessNo accessApprovesNo accessView onlyNo access
Apply retention and dispositionNo accessOwn work onlyNo accessNo accessNo accessView onlyNo access
Review access activityNo accessNo accessNo accessView onlyFullView onlyNo access
View audit trailNo accessNo accessNo accessView onlyView onlyView onlyView only
Manage users and rolesNo accessNo accessNo accessApprovesNo accessNo accessFull
  • Full
  • Own work only
  • Approves
  • View only
  • No access

How access is controlled

  • Access to content is decided document by document from clearance, caveats and need-to-know groups. Holding a governance role does not grant access to documents; every person reads only what their own access allows.
  • Clearance levels come from your authoritative personnel security source rather than being typed into the system, and access is removed automatically when that source shows a change.
  • Nobody grants themselves access: changes to need-to-know groups and governance roles are approved by a second authorized person and recorded in the audit trail.
  • Staff sign in through your identity provider. Auditors receive scoped, time-limited access to audit records, not to document content.

Features

What it does

Meaning-based search

Finds documents that discuss the same issue in different words, alongside exact keyword, phrase and field search.

Access filtering before results

Clearance level, caveats and need-to-know groups are checked for every document before it appears in results, counts or suggestions.

Marking-aware display

Each document and each excerpt is shown with its classification, caveats and handling markings, including portion markings where present.

Marking review queue

Documents with missing, inconsistent or unrecognized markings are held from search until classification staff review them.

Related reporting

From any document, see earlier and later reporting on the same issue, post or subject, filtered by the same access rules.

Cited summaries

Draft summaries of a set of documents, with every statement linked to its source and marked as machine-generated for the user to check.

Chronologies and collections

Build a dated chronology or reading list on an issue, with notes, and share it only with people entitled to every item in it.

Scanned holdings

Older paper and microfilm holdings made searchable through optical character recognition, with lower-confidence text flagged.

Faceted filters

Narrow results by country, post, subject tags, date range, document type and originator.

Declassification history

Declassification, downgrading and release decisions recorded against each document as your authorities make them, with the effect on access applied.

Access monitoring

Searches, views and exports recorded, with reports that surface unusual patterns for security staff to review.

Records retention

Retention and disposition schedules recorded against document series, with holds that prevent deletion while they apply.

Integrations

How it connects to your systems

Connects toHowWhat flows
Source archivesCables and related documents transferred from your existing archives and records systems, with their metadata and markings.In: documents, metadata, markings and dates.
Personnel security recordsClearance level and caveat eligibility from your authoritative personnel security source, refreshed on a schedule you set.In: clearance level, caveat eligibility and status changes by user.
Single sign-onUsers sign in through your agency identity provider (SAML or OpenID Connect), including PIV-based authentication where your provider supports it.In: user identity and group membership.
Records managementRetention schedules and disposition decisions exchanged with your records management system.In: schedules and holds. Out: disposition lists and actions taken.
Security monitoringSearch, view and export events sent to your security information and event management or insider threat tools.Out: activity events with user, document identifier and time.
FOIA and declassification reviewDocuments selected for FOIA or mandatory declassification review can be exported to your review tools, including Moraph's FOIA redaction engine.Out: selected documents and metadata. In: release and declassification decisions.
Work APIMetadata, collection and activity data available to authorized internal tools through the Moraph Work API, subject to the same access rules.Out: metadata and search results filtered by the caller's access.

Each integration is confirmed in discovery and specified in the design. See how an engagement progresses.

Security and privacy

How your data is protected

US hosting and agency environments

Unclassified and CUI holdings are hosted in the United States region. Classified holdings are deployed in your agency's own environment and operated under your agency's authority.

Cleared support lane

Support tickets from federal clients are handled only by US citizens with active security clearances.

Access checked per document

Clearance, caveats and need to know are checked for every document before it is returned, counted or suggested.

Encryption under controlled keys

Client data is encrypted with keys Moraph staff cannot access without explicit, time-bound authorization.

Complete audit trail

Every search, view, summary, export and access change is recorded with the person and time, and cannot be edited.

AI proposes, people decide

Summaries and suggestions are labeled as machine-generated and cite their sources; they never change markings, access or records.

Company-wide controls, independent audits (SOC 2 Type II and ISO/IEC 27001) and data residency are described in our Trust Center, where you can request the evidence pack.

Reporting

What you can report on

10 standard reports, grouped by who uses them. Each shows who it is for, how it can be broken down, how it is delivered and what it is used for. The data behind them is also available to your own reporting tools.

Use and holdings

Holdings coverage

For archivists and records officers

Documents indexed by period, post, document type and marking, and the share of each series that is searchable.

Break down by
Period, Post, Document type, Marking
Delivered as
Live dashboard; CSV export
Used for
Planning ingestion of remaining holdings and showing what is covered.

Ingestion and extraction quality

For archivists

Ingestion batches, failures, documents with low-confidence text and documents held for marking review.

Break down by
Batch, Source archive, Issue type, Status
Delivered as
Live dashboard; scheduled email
Used for
Fixing ingestion problems and prioritizing rescanning.

Search use

For program managers

Searches run and documents viewed over time by bureau, without exposing document content.

Break down by
Bureau, Period, Search type
Delivered as
Live dashboard; CSV export
Used for
Understanding how the archive is used and where training would help.

Classification and records

Marking review queue

For classification reviewers

Documents held for marking review and marking issues reported by users, with age and source.

Break down by
Issue type, Source archive, Age band, Reviewer
Delivered as
Live dashboard; CSV export
Used for
Working down marking issues so documents become searchable.

Declassification history

For classification reviewers, records officers, auditors

Declassification, downgrading and release decisions recorded, with the authority cited and the date applied.

Break down by
Decision type, Authority, Period, Document series
Delivered as
Live view; PDF and CSV export
Used for
Evidencing that marking changes follow recorded authority.

Retention and disposition

For records officers

Series by retention schedule, records eligible for disposition, holds in place and actions taken.

Break down by
Schedule, Series, Hold, Action
Delivered as
Live view; PDF and CSV export
Used for
Managing records under approved schedules.

Access and security

Need-to-know group membership

For access managers and auditors

Members of each group, when they were added, by whom, and when membership was last certified.

Break down by
Group, Bureau, Approver, Certification status
Delivered as
Live view; PDF and CSV export
Used for
Periodic access certification and audit.

Access changes from personnel security

For access managers

Users whose clearance or caveat eligibility changed, and the access removed or restored as a result.

Break down by
Change type, Bureau, Date
Delivered as
Live dashboard; scheduled email
Used for
Confirming that access follows clearance changes promptly.

Unusual activity

For security reviewers

Patterns surfaced for review, such as volumes of viewing outside a user's usual subjects, with the reviewer's disposition.

Break down by
Pattern type, Bureau, Disposition, Period
Delivered as
Live dashboard
Used for
Reviewing and documenting follow-up on access activity.

Audit trail extract

For auditors and security reviewers

Who searched, viewed, summarized, exported or changed access to a selected document, user or period.

Break down by
User, Document, Action, Date range
Delivered as
On request in the product; CSV and PDF export
Used for
Answering audit and security inquiries without assembling evidence by hand.

Exports, access and evidence

  • Reports can be exported to CSV, and evidence reports to PDF. Exports carry the highest marking of the data they contain and are recorded in the audit trail.
  • Reports about activity and access show document identifiers and metadata, not content, unless the viewer is separately entitled to the content.
  • Activity events can be sent to your security monitoring tools, and metadata is available through the Moraph Work API under the same access rules.
  • Every report respects the viewer's role and access: archivists see holdings, access managers see membership, and nobody sees counts or titles of documents they cannot access.
  • Access, marking and audit reports can be run as of a past date and give the same result each time.

Deployment

Where and how it runs

Moraph cloud, United States

For unclassified and CUI holdings, hosted and operated by Moraph in the United States region.

Dedicated environment

A single-tenant environment for agencies that require isolation, scoped in the proposal.

Agency environment

For classified holdings, the software is deployed in your agency's own accredited environment and operated under your agency's authority, with support from cleared Moraph staff as your procedures allow.

Security controls, independent audits and data residency are set out in our Trust Center. Engagement models and what drives a quotation are on Working with Moraph.

Implementation

What a rollout involves

The general phases are on Working with Moraph. For this product, they involve the following.

Holdings and marking assessment

We review your source archives, metadata and marking conventions with your records and classification staff, and agree how each marking maps to access attributes.

Access model design

Clearance levels, caveats and need-to-know groups are modeled with your security office, and the connection to your personnel security source is set up.

Environment setup

Unclassified and CUI holdings are set up in the Moraph US region. For classified holdings, the software is installed in your agency's environment and operated under your authority.

Staged ingestion

Holdings are loaded in batches, starting with a sample series, and marking issues and extraction quality are reviewed before each batch is released to search.

Access testing

Your security staff test with accounts at different access levels to confirm that results, counts and suggestions respect every rule before go-live.

Training and go-live

Searchers, archivists, reviewers and access managers are trained on their own workflows, including how to check machine-generated summaries against sources.

Limitations

What it does not do

Worth knowing before you evaluate it.

  • Moraph holds no FedRAMP authorization and no accreditation for classified systems. We map controls and provide documentation to support your agency's own authorization decisions.
  • Classified holdings are not hosted in Moraph's cloud. They are handled only in your agency's environment, under your authority.
  • Access control is only as accurate as the markings on documents and the clearance data from your personnel security source. Documents with missing or inconsistent markings are held until reviewed.
  • It does not classify, declassify or downgrade anything. It records decisions made by your authorized officials.
  • Summaries and suggested related documents are machine-generated and can be incomplete or wrong. Users must check them against the cited sources.
  • Search quality on older scanned holdings depends on scan quality; low-confidence text is flagged and may need rescanning.
  • It is not a cable drafting or transmission system, and it does not replace your official records system of record.
  • Search is in the languages your holdings are indexed for during implementation; translation is not included.

Evaluation checklist

What to test in a demonstration or pilot

Questions worth putting to us, and to any other vendor you are considering.

  1. Index a sample series of your unclassified holdings and compare meaning-based search with your current keyword search
  2. Test with accounts at different access levels and confirm that results, counts and suggestions never reveal restricted documents
  3. Load documents with deliberately inconsistent markings and confirm they are held for review
  4. Ask an officer to build a chronology on a past issue and check the cited summaries against the sources
  5. Change a test user's clearance in your personnel source and confirm access changes follow
  6. Review the audit trail for a session and confirm it answers your security office's questions

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Can a user tell that a document exists if they are not cleared for it?

Access is checked before results are returned, so documents outside a user's access are not shown, counted in result totals, or suggested as related.

Can it hold classified cables?

Not in Moraph's cloud. For classified holdings the software is deployed in your agency's own accredited environment and operated under your agency's authority. Moraph holds no accreditation for classified systems.

Does the AI decide what is relevant or what can be released?

No. It ranks and suggests documents and drafts summaries with citations. People decide what to rely on, and classification and release decisions are made by your authorized officials.

Where does clearance information come from?

From your authoritative personnel security source, refreshed on a schedule you set. Clearance levels are not typed into the system by hand.

Is it FedRAMP authorized?

No. Moraph holds no FedRAMP authorization for this product. We map controls and provide documentation to support your agency's own authorization decision.

How do we evaluate it before buying?

A demonstration uses fictional documents. For a deeper evaluation, a pilot can index a sample of your unclassified holdings, and your security staff can test access with accounts at different levels.

Next steps

Evaluate Diplomatic Cable Archive & Search

Buying through a formal procurement? See How to buy for purchasing routes, accessibility conformance reports and company information. Documentation: Diplomatic Cable Archive & Search guides on docs.moraph.com (getting started and security guides are public; setup, administration and integration guides are for client accounts). Support: Diplomatic Cable Archive & Search support guide.