NSA NSA Operations Security (OPSEC) 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does OPSEC stand for in NSA terminology?
- Operations Security (Correct answer)
- Optional Security
- Offshore Security
- Optical Security
Correct answer: Operations Security
OPSEC stands for Operations Security, a process designed to protect unclassified information from being exploited by adversaries.
Question 2: What is the first step of the five-step OPSEC process?
- Risk assessment
- Identification of critical information (Correct answer)
- Analysis of threats
- Apply countermeasures
Correct answer: Identification of critical information
The first step of OPSEC is identifying critical information that must be protected from adversary exploitation.
Question 3: Which U.S. directive established the national OPSEC program?
- NSDD-298 (Correct answer)
- EO 12333
- FISA Act
- PDD-63
Correct answer: NSDD-298
National Security Decision Directive 298, signed in 1988, established the national OPSEC program and created the Interagency OPSEC Support Staff.
Question 4: In OPSEC, what is a 'vulnerability'?
- An enemy agent
- A weakness that can be exploited by an adversary (Correct answer)
- A classified document
- A secure communication channel
Correct answer: A weakness that can be exploited by an adversary
A vulnerability in OPSEC is a weakness in security measures that adversaries can exploit to obtain critical information.
Question 5: What is the purpose of OPSEC countermeasures?
- To encrypt all data at rest
- To eliminate vulnerabilities or reduce risk to critical information (Correct answer)
- To train new employees in security basics
- To monitor all internal communications
Correct answer: To eliminate vulnerabilities or reduce risk to critical information
OPSEC countermeasures are actions taken to eliminate vulnerabilities or reduce the risk that adversaries will successfully exploit them.
Question 6: Which of the following is an example of an OPSEC indicator?
- A classified briefing document
- Unusual increases in personnel badge access requests before an operation (Correct answer)
- An official government press release
- A routine equipment maintenance log
Correct answer: Unusual increases in personnel badge access requests before an operation
Unusual access request patterns are OPSEC indicators — observable facts or data that could reveal sensitive operational information to an adversary.
NSA NSA Operations Security (OPSEC) 1
What does OPSEC stand for in NSA terminology?