Chapter 5: Operational Security (OPSEC)

Operational security or OPSEC, as it's often referred to, is the foundation for any threat intelligence function that involves actively performing threat intelligence open source collection, such as interfacing with a command-and-control infrastructure or perusing underground forums. OPSEC, in its rawest form, is the act of protecting yourself when you're collecting intelligence in both a technical and behavioral way. Having personal or technical information fall into the wrong hands during intelligence collection can cause turmoil both personally and professionally, and this chapter intends to help prevent that from happening.

OPSEC acts as an intersection between technical threat intelligence and behavioral threat intelligence and is meant to serve as guidance on how to protect you when you're conducting open source intelligence (OSINT) investigations. As the first chapter in Section 2 of this book, this chapter intends to...