What is Operations Security? What should an OPSEC plan include?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The business community might save itself considerable time, effort, and money by adopting
information protection strategies that replicate those employed in government operations.
Paralleling government efforts, operations security(OPSEC) involves information risk assessment
and business intelligence activities in a process through which business operations are analyzed
to identify potential intelligence indicators that competitors might scrutinize to gain a competitive
advantage. OPSEC views operations from an adversary’s perspective in an effort to seek out an
organization’s vulnerabilities and protect its critical information, which is defined as information
that is vital to a mission that if an adversary obtains it, correctly analyzes it, and acts upon it, the
compromise of this information could prevent or seriously degrade mission success. (OPSEC
Professionals Society, 2007). This means that businesspeople must think like criminals,
anticipating threats. Private businesses seeking government contracts for classified projects are
often required to submit OPSEC plans along with their bids. Components of the development and
implementation of an effective OPSEC plan include:
• The identification and valuation of critical information.
• Identifying and analyzing potential threats, including the threat’s motivation and
capabilities.
• Evaluating the organization’s information vulnerabilities.
• Assessing the impact of a materialized threat as well as a cost–benefit analysis of any protective
measure implemented.
• Implementing the most cost-effective protective measure options (countermeasures)