Diplomatic cable

A secure written message exchanged between a diplomatic mission and its government, typically reporting events or conveying instructions. It carries official information across distance through diplomatic communications systems.

Diplomatic communications: The systems and practices governments use to exchange official messages with diplomatic missions abroad. Diplomatic cables are a central form of communication between missions and their governments.
Diplomatic reporting: The collection and analysis of information about political, economic, and social conditions by diplomatic missions. Reporting cables transmit a mission’s observations and assessments to officials at home.
Submarine communications cable: A cable laid underwater to carry telegraph, telephone, or data signals between distant locations. Undersea cables made rapid communication with overseas missions possible.
Diplomatic note: A formal written communication exchanged between governments or diplomatic representatives. Unlike a cable, a diplomatic note is typically a formal instrument delivered to another government.
United States diplomatic cables leak: The 2010 publication by WikiLeaks of a large collection of confidential United States diplomatic cables. The leak exposed the contents of cables to global audiences and provoked diplomatic disputes.
Diplomatic cipher: A code or encryption method used to protect confidential diplomatic communications. Ciphers help prevent unauthorized parties from reading sensitive cable traffic.
Foreign policy: A government's goals and actions in its relations with other countries and international actors. Instructions sent by cable translate foreign-policy decisions into guidance for missions.
Electric telegraph: A system that sends coded electrical signals over wires to communicate across distance. Telegraph networks established the early infrastructure behind messages called cables.
Telegram: A message transmitted through a telegraph service and delivered in written form. A telegram is a general telegraph message, while a diplomatic cable belongs to official government communications.
WikiLeaks: A publisher known for releasing classified or otherwise confidential documents supplied by sources. Its publication of diplomatic cables brought secrecy, journalism, and government disclosure into conflict.

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Guy BurgessBroader topic: Access to diplomatic communications made Burgess’s official position valuable to Soviet handlers.