What does OPSEC stand for in the context of ship IW tasks?

• A. It stands for Optical Security and relates to lenses.
• B. It stands for Optional Security and is optional.
• C. OPSEC stands for Operational Security and is used to protect mission details and avoid intelligence leakage.
• D. It stands for Organizational Security.

Answer: (C)

Operational Security is about protecting information that could reveal a ship’s intentions, capabilities, or plans to an adversary. In ship IW tasks, OPSEC guides how we handle planning data, movement details, sensor and weapon capabilities, and even routine chatter. The idea is to identify what information would be dangerous if disclosed, assess who might seek it and how, and apply countermeasures to reduce that risk. Practical measures include enforcing need-to-know access, using secure communications and encryption, controlling what gets shared in public or unsecured channels, and timing information so enemies cannot deduce patterns. OPSEC is an ongoing discipline across planning, operations, and after-action review to prevent intelligence leakage.