As you can see, OPSEC can apply to our lives in a variety of ways, but I don’t want you to overthink it.

Let’s look at a basic but common scenario, the day after Christmas trash collection. Taking the (5) steps into account would look something like:

Critical Information: I bought new 50” TV for Christmas. This is a highly sought after item.

Possible Threat: Burglers.

Vulnerabilities: I have a giant box to get rid of that advertises my critical information. 

Assess Risk: It’s common knowledge that crime spikes during the holidays and I will be traveling out of state to visit family.

Apply Counter-measures: Cut the box into small manageable pieces. Put the pieces into a opaque garbage bag and into the trash can for pick up.