Which best describes OPSEC's role in maritime information operations?

• A. OPSEC identifies critical information, analyzes threats, and implements protective measures to reduce adversary visibility into friendly operations.
• B. OPSEC maximizes adversary visibility into friendly operations to deter them.
• C. OPSEC ignores threat analysis to speed up missions.
• D. OPSEC relies solely on physical security measures.

Answer: (A)

OPSEC in maritime information operations is about protecting information so adversaries don’t learn too much about friendly activities. The best description is that OPSEC identifies what information would be sensitive, analyzes who might threaten it and how they could get at it, and then puts protective measures in place to limit what can be observed. In a maritime context, this means pinpointing details like ship schedules, routes, port calls, cargo, and communications patterns; assessing which actors might be interested and how they could obtain information; and applying countermeasures such as restricting dissemination to need-to-know, encrypting communications, altering or delaying release of sensitive data, deconflicting movements to reduce predictable patterns, using camouflage or decoys when appropriate, and training crews in secure information handling. The goal is to reduce the enemy’s ability to infer operations, capabilities, and intentions. Physical security is important, but OPSEC also covers information handling, timing, and dissemination practices, not just assets.