OPSEC CBT Answers

Specific facts about friendly intentions, capabilities, and activities needed by adversaries to plan and act effectively against friendly mission accomplishment.

A process that is a systematic method used to identify, control, and protect critical information and subsequently analyze friendly actions associated with military operations and other activities.

The adversary is capable of collecting critical information, correctly analyzing it, and then taking timely action.

Intent + Capability

Reduce the vulnerability of U.S. and multinational forces from successful adversary exploitation of critical information.

Denies the adversary the information needed to correctly assess friendly capabilities and intentions.

It focuses the remainder of the OPSEC process on protecting vital information rather than attempting to protect all unclassified information.

The responsibility of all persons, including civilians and contractors.

Identifying, controlling, and protecting unclassified information that is associated with specific military operations and activities.

Report the OPSEC disclosure to your OPSEC representative or the EUCOM OPSEC PM.

Deployment dates and location.

False. An indicator is a piece of friendly detectable action or open-source information that can be interpreted or pieced together by an adversary to derive critical information.

True. Critical Information is unclassified and controlled unclassified information (CUI) that can be revealed through publicly available sources.

Use social media with caution by limiting the amount of personal information you post, and be aware that the photos you take with smartphones and load to the internet may have been geotagged.

Yes. Even seemingly innocent information shared by family members on social media can serve as indicators that adversaries can piece together to derive critical information.

Yes. Wearing an ID badge outside a facility reveals organizational affiliation, facility location, and potentially access levels to adversaries conducting surveillance.

Identifying and protecting critical information.

An operations function, not a security function.

1) Identify critical information, 2) Analyze threats, 3) Analyze vulnerabilities, 4) Assess risk, 5) Apply appropriate countermeasures.

Identify critical information. This involves determining what information, if available to adversaries, would harm friendly operations or give them an advantage.

Friendly detectable actions and open-source information that can be interpreted or pieced together by an adversary to derive critical information.

Prevent the adversary from detecting an indicator, prevent the adversary from collecting an indicator, and/or prevent the adversary from correctly analyzing and interpreting critical information.

True. OPSEC is a continuous cycle and is the responsibility of every member of the organization, not just security personnel.

Yes. Adversaries can overhear conversations in public places, intercept phone communications, and piece together fragments of information to develop intelligence.

A five-step process to identify, control, and protect critical information and analyze friendly actions and indicators that would allow adversaries or potential adversaries to identify and exploit vulnerabilities.

It is a process. OPSEC is not a collection of specific rules and instructions that can be applied to every operation, but rather a methodology that can be applied to any operation or activity.

True. Varying routines and patterns makes it harder for adversaries to predict activities and exploit predictable behavior.

An adversary who has the intent and capability to collect, analyze, and exploit critical information about friendly operations.

Identifying who the adversaries are, what their goals are, what intelligence collection capabilities they have, and what critical information they already possess or need.

Examining each aspect of the planned operation to identify OPSEC indicators that could reveal critical information and determining which vulnerabilities an adversary could exploit.

Evaluating the risks by weighing the potential damage of a vulnerability being exploited against the cost of implementing countermeasures. Commanders decide which vulnerabilities require countermeasures.

Selecting and implementing measures to eliminate vulnerabilities, indicators, and threats, or reduce them to an acceptable level. Examples include action control, counter-analysis, and diversions.

Everyone. OPSEC is the responsibility of all personnel, including military members, DOD civilians, and contractors. Every individual must protect critical information in daily activities.

Personnel can unknowingly post details about operations, schedules, unit movements, capabilities, and personal information that adversaries aggregate into actionable intelligence. Geotagged photos can reveal locations.

Traditional security protects classified information through established standards. OPSEC protects unclassified but critical information and indicators that, when aggregated, could reveal classified or sensitive activities.

Intelligence collected from publicly available sources such as newspapers, social media, websites, public databases, and government reports. Adversaries use OSINT extensively because it is legal and low-risk.

Individually insignificant pieces of unclassified information, when combined and analyzed together, can reveal a classified or sensitive picture of operations. Adversaries assemble many small data points into comprehensive intelligence.

Key questions about friendly force capabilities, activities, and intentions that adversaries are likely to ask. EEFI are used to build the Critical Information List (CIL) and guide OPSEC analysis.

A list of specific items of critical information approved by the commander that identifies the most important information to protect. It focuses the OPSEC process and is distributed to all personnel.

Action control (modifying routines), counter-analysis (misleading indicators), diversions, communication discipline, cover and deception, use of secure communications, and varying predictable patterns.

They monitor routine activities and identify predictable patterns such as communication surges, supply build-ups, personnel movements, and shift changes. Changes in patterns can signal upcoming operations.

Disable GPS/location services, turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi auto-connect, do not use personal devices in classified areas, use strong passwords and encryption, avoid connecting to unknown networks.

Avoid posting deployment dates, return dates, or specific locations on social media. Do not discuss operational details. Be cautious with strangers asking about their service member's duties or whereabouts.

OPSEC originated from a Vietnam War study called 'Purple Dragon' in 1966 after discovering the enemy was anticipating U.S. operations by exploiting unclassified indicators.

OPSEC is one of the core capabilities of Information Operations. OPSEC supports IO by denying adversaries information needed to counter friendly operations.

OPSEC applies 24/7. Conversations in public places, social media posts, phone calls, and daily routines can all reveal critical information. Personnel must be cautious even when not at work.

GPS metadata (EXIF data) embedded in photos can reveal exact coordinates, potentially exposing military facility locations, personnel unit assignments, and facility layouts. The 2018 Strava incident revealed secret base locations.

AR 530-1, Operations Security, establishes OPSEC policy for the Army. DoD Manual 5205.02-M provides overarching DoD OPSEC guidance.

A formal evaluation of an organization's OPSEC posture to identify vulnerabilities in the protection of critical information. It examines policies, procedures, personnel practices, and security measures.

Eliminating or altering indicators by changing schedules, varying routes, modifying operational patterns, or timing activities to avoid adversary detection windows.

This is an OPSEC indicator that could reveal an upcoming operation. Adversaries monitoring supply channels could infer the timing, scale, and potential location of the operation.

This reveals the exact timeline of the deployment and return date, which is critical information. Adversaries could use this to plan attacks timed to troop movements or identify windows of reduced security.

A group that thinks and acts like the adversary to identify vulnerabilities in friendly operations. They attempt to collect critical information using adversary methods and report findings to improve OPSEC posture.

Supply orders, shipping manifests, fuel deliveries, and equipment requests can reveal the timing, scale, and nature of operations. Adversaries actively target logistics channels for intelligence.

Restricting access to information to only those who require it for their duties. Limiting the number of people with access to critical information reduces potential sources of leakage and overall vulnerability.

Controlling the content and methods of communications to prevent adversary interception. It includes using secure channels, limiting sensitive discussion over unsecured lines, and avoiding patterns that signal operations.

Immediately but discreetly ask the coworker to stop the conversation. After returning to a secure environment, remind them of OPSEC procedures and report the incident to your security manager or OPSEC officer.

False. OPSEC primarily protects unclassified but critical information and indicators that, when aggregated, could reveal classified or sensitive operational details.

Ensure classification level matches discussion, remove or cover visible sensitive materials, verify all participants are authorized, use encryption for sensitive topics, and do not record or distribute beyond need-to-know.

Adversaries use phishing and social engineering to trick personnel into revealing critical information or credentials. Spear-phishing using personal details from social media can lead to network compromise and data theft.

OPSEC supports force protection by concealing vulnerabilities, movements, schedules, and security gaps that adversaries could exploit for attacks against personnel and facilities.