Operations Security (OPSEC) —
Operations Security, or OPSEC, involves identifying and consolidating critical information to gain a better understanding of a situation. Additionally, OPSEC refers to safeguarding data and ensuring a given mission against eavesdropping by unauthorized parties or accidental compromise.
Initially developed for military operations, Operations Security has become crucial for maintaining information security in various spheres. Today, it is used in finance, healthcare, and technology industries, where sensitive information must be continually safeguarded against unauthorized access or accidental disclosure. By implementing OPSEC strategies, organizations can protect their valuable information and maintain their competitive edge in today's data-driven world.
There are five major stages of conducting quality Operations Security:
- Sensitive data identification. To protect sensitive data, you must first establish what that data is. The finer points of this will vary from organization to organization. Still, in most cases, it will encompass banking information, financial records, customer details, intellectual property, R&D projects and results, etc.
- Vulnerability identification. Once the sensitive data has been identified, organizations need to determine where potential threats may stem from. These could be malicious or careless insiders, third parties wanting to steal data for profit, or competitors seeking internal secrets to gain an advantage.
- Vulnerability analysis. Once weak points have been identified, they need to assess for specific loopholes and vulnerabilities and how these correlate with the existing safeguarding processes and technologies.
- Threat severity assessment. All vulnerabilities need to be assigned a threat level, which is usually ranked depending on the likelihood of attack, amount of potential damage, and time required to mitigate or contain the breach. The higher the threat level, the more resources are devoted to safeguarding the vulnerability.
- Threat mitigation. Once all analyses have been weighed and countermeasures devised, they need to be implemented. This could mean updating hardware or software, altering policy, or implementing personnel training.
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Featured terms
Blockchains —
In a nutshell, a blockchain is a shared, or distributed, ledger recording transactions and assets. The data is compiled through a continuous verification process that links all transactions into a large, decentralized "chain" of participants, who are linked across a network of peer-to-peer computers...
Data Breach —
Data breaches are the exposure of sensitive or classified information to unauthorized parties and can have disastrous consequences for an organization. When a breach occurs, a company often has to pay out huge sums of money to contain the leak and may also suffer costly reputational damage...
Link Analysis —
The process of link analysis involves examining data to uncover relationships or connections that might not be apparent in raw data sets. It is a powerful analytical tool that has a wide range of applications in various sectors, from law enforcement and national security to cyber and...
Operations Security (OPSEC) —
Operations Security, or OPSEC, involves identifying and consolidating critical information to gain a better understanding of a situation. Additionally, it refers to safeguarding data and ensuring a given mission against eavesdropping by unauthorized parties or accidental compromise...
Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT) —
A close cousin of OSINT, SOCMINT is an acronym meaning ‘social media intelligence.’ SOCMINT is the collection and analysis of data from social media platforms. Such information might be used for various purposes, including digital footprinting, link analysis, etc.
Social Media Piggybacking (Piggyback Marketing) —
When a company’s social media post goes viral, it is only a matter of time before millions of people start talking about it. Seeing an opportunity to leverage the post's popularity, companies can join in to redirect some of the traffic toward their services...
Our OSINT Solutions
Un conjunto de métodos de extracción y análisis de datos que abarcan redes sociales, blockchain, messangers y la Dark Web, conectados directamente a tu plataforma interna a través de nuestra Open Data API.
Una herramienta OSINT para llevar a cabo investigaciones exhaustivas en redes sociales, blockchain, messangers y la Dark Web con las plataformas Maltego e i2.