Origins of Operations Security
The foundational concepts and principles of operations security have developed over time from key examples:
- Sun Tzu
- George Washington
- Vietnam War
- Business
- Interagency OPSEC Support Staff
Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu was a Chinese military general who lived in the sixth century BCE.
- Wrote Art of War
Art of War contains texts with some of the earliest examples of operations security principles.
- “If I am able to determine the enemy’s dispositions while at the same time I conceal my own, then I can concentrate and he must divide”
- “When making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch you can attain is to conceal them; conceal your dispositions, and you will be safe from prying of the subtlest spies, from the machinations of the wisest brain.”
George Washington
George Washington is the first president of the United States and a skilled military commander.
Quote
“Even minutiae should have a place in our collection, for things of a seemingly trifling nature, when enjoined with others of a more serious cast, may lead to valuable conclusion”
- even the smallest items of information, which are worthless individually, can be of great value in combination
Quote
“For upon Secrecy, Success depends in most Enterprises of the kind, and for want of it, they are generally defeated.”
- referring to an intelligence gathering program and the need to keep its activities secret
Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War, the United States realized that information regarding troop movements, operations, and other military activities was being leaked to the enemy.
To stop the leak, authorities conducted a study, code-named Purple Dragon to discover its cause.
The team conducting these surveys and analyses coined the term operations security and its acronym OPSEC.
Business
In 1980, Michael E. Porter, a professor at Harvard Business School, published a book titled Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors.
- set the groundwork for what we now call competitive intelligence.
Competitive intelligence is generally defined as conducting intelligence gathering and analysis to support business decisions.
Interagency OPSEC Support Staff (IOSS)
After the end of the Vietnam War, the group that conducted Purple Dragon and developed the government OPSEC principles tried to get support for an organization that would work with the various government agencies on operations security.
in 1988, Ronald Reagan signed the Interagency OPSEC Support Staff (IOSS) into being with the National Decision Security Directive 298.
Today, the IOSS is responsible for a wide variety of OPSEC awareness and training efforts.