OPSEC & PERSEC

Operational Security & Personal Security for them, their units, and those at home. We have to be careful in what we do in order to help keep them safe.

OPSEC & PERSEC With Social Media and the on going threats of security, We want to make sure that you all understand your key roles as a supporter of someone in the military. Please, read and print to share with those you know and love.

I. OPSEC and Internet Safety Handout.

OPSEC and Internet Safety.pdf

II. OPSEC and Social Networking checklist

OPSEC and Social networking.pdf

OPSEC:

OPERATIONAL RULES FOR MILITARY FAMILIES

Please read both this and the subsequent posts. With all the talk of safety and precautions, our USAF has made a statement to help us. This is not saying deactivate Facebook or remove your pride. It is restating to use care and safety.

17th Training Wing

REMEMBER OPSEC ON SOCIAL MEDIA SITES

Recent mainstream media reporting has focused on terrorists obtaining information on U.S. military personnel and dependents through social networking sites (Facebook, etc.). This does not represent a change in terrorist activity; terrorists, criminals and others with immoral intent have been exploiting social media since its inception.

All personnel, including dependents, are encouraged to protect their personal information, especially through social media platforms. Be vigilant, ensure information on the Internet is protected and educate dependents.

Review the tips below on ways everyone can protect personal information, and stay safe on the Internet.

Social Media Tips:

- Think before posting. Always assume everyone in the world will be able to see what is posted or tweeted, even if the personal settings limits are set to family and friends only.

- Do not friend anyone on Facebook unless there the user is positively sure who the requestor is. Anyone can pose as a friend, family member or colleague.

- Set personal profile setting to limit who has access, but do not trust these settings as absolute.

- Avoid posting personal information such as addresses, phone numbers or any government affiliation, including photos in uniform.

- Avoid providing detailed accounts of day (e.g., leave for or return from work, going on vacation, at an event).

- Do not use check-in or other geolocation applications.

For more information, contact the 17th Training Wing Operations Security program manager 325-654-5399.

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This article will provide a basic set of OPSEC rules for free, unrestricted use on any site or forum. Please note that this is not an inclusive list, and should be modified to fit the requirements on the medium. Please note that these OPSEC rules are primarily directed towards Military sites, but it may be modified to fit any other application.

OPSEC Rules for (forum, blog, chatroom name):

1. Do not post exact deployment dates or redeployment dates.

2. Do not reveal camp locations, including nearby cities. After the deployment is officially announced by Military officials, you may discuss locations that have been released, normally on the Country level.

3. Do not discuss convoy routes (“we traveled through Takrit on our way to X”).

4. Do not discuss detailed information on the mission, capabilities or morale of a unit.

5. Do not discuss specific names or actual nicknames.

6. Do not discuss personnel transactions that occur in large numbers (Example: pay information, powers of attorney, wills, etc).

7. Do not discuss details concerning security procedures, response times, tactics.

8. Do not discuss equipment or lack thereof, to include training equipment.

9. Don’t speculate about future operations.

10. If posting pictures, don’t post anything that could be misconstrued or used for propaganda purposes. A good rule of thumb is to look at your picture without your caption or explanation and consider if it could be re-captioned to reflect poorly on coalition forces. For example, your image might show your military loved one rescuing a child from a blast site, but could be re-captioned to insinuate that the child being captured or harmed. (it’s happened!).

11. Avoid the use of count-up or count-down tickers for the same reason as rule #1.

12. Be very careful if posting pictures of your loved one. Avoid images that show significant landmarks near their base of operations, and black out last names and unit affiliations.

13. Do not, ever, post information about casualties (coalition or enemy) before the official release of the information.

14. Do not pass on rumors (“I heard they’re coming home early”, etc)

15. Do not "Tag" your military loved one. With today's technology, face recognition on Facebook & other applications or forums may seem fun & easy for us, the civilian. These same programs could be harmful to those in the military along with their family.

16. Smart phones, iPads, all these new electronic gadgets that help us connect to our secret or closed groups....Be safe! Remember what we list on our Facebook, twitter, myspace, etc. will be accessible in the event our gadget is lost or stolen. Put a password, lock or code to keep your private information private!

17. INTERNET SAFETY. This CANNOT be stressed enough. If you do not know them, do not friend them! There has been an up rise within the internet applications as a whole. As an example and in no way to defame, the following applications have been used, Facebook, Twitter, and even the "Official" sites who are open to the public as a whole. These people, be it an individual or group, will with the intent to do harm, will capture information and jeopardize the safety of our military loved ones. They will post fake photos, use false name and go thru hoops to make you and an unsuspecting military member believe that they are the girl/boy from next door. Use all precautions at all times!

If you have any questions, contact an Admin.

These OPSEC rules aren’t meant to limit your free speech or restrict your liberties- that’s exactly what our men and women in uniform fight to protect. However, they are designed to help ensure the safety and security of the Service members in your life. Remember, no matter your affiliation, status, rank or age- you have a part in the security of your loved one!

Put simply... as a military person, you could be a target and your family could be a target. Terrorist looks and sees you are not going to be home, wife alone at home goes to your profile, finds your wife, finds out address.... OR, terrorist sees you are shipping on a specific date, knows what airport is there, sees your profile and pictures on it, meets you at the airport and you never make it to BMT.

Cell Phone Warning:

In relation to the OPSEC rules, I wanted to point out to all of those with smart phones, be especially careful who you share photos with. Especially those of you who get pictures sent to you from your deployed military persons. Most smart phones have a feature called location services. Unless turned off, it will embed GPS coordinates to the location that photo was taken. Anyone good with computers can access those GPS coordinates if those photos are shared online. So please be careful who you forward those pictures to and warn your friends and family of the same.

How to turn it off on an iphone:

Go into setting, click privacy, then click location services, go to the icon that says camera and make sure it is turned to "off". But you need to tell your Military person to do the same for his/her own protection on their phone.

*note from Admin Diane Dickey: Our airman and those of us that work on base are also briefed on the dangers of posting images from cell phones that have location service set. This is called geotagging and the invisible coordinates of where the picture was taken an exact location can be brought up on a mapping service like Google maps.. http://m.wikihow.com/Avoid-the-Potential-Risks-of-Geotagging

Source: Combination and merging of US AF, GoArmy.com, AF MOMS, USA BMT & MS ABCT by Lorraine Silva

PERSEC

PERSONAL SECURITY For Military Families

Whether you live on base or off base, you should be even more aware of your surroundings when your military person is away from home or deployed. Here are a few tips to help keep you safe during this time.

Only people who need to know your loved one is away or deployed should know. It should not be common knowledge you have a family member away or for those single moms, that you are living alone. It’s easy to slip up and say something to the store clerk when you’re checking out but its better not to alert strangers you are living alone. This includes displaying stickers on your car announcing your Airman's deployment.

Change your routes and routines. This is basic safety knowledge regardless of if your military person ( spouse or child) is deployed. Don’t leave your home and return home at the same time every day. Don’t always drive the same route or follow the same routine. If someone was watching you, make it difficult for them to determine your routine.

Always keep your doors locked at home, even when you are safely inside.

Never answer the door to someone unexpectedly arriving unless you can verify who it is without opening the door. If a maintenance person or other supposed professional shows up at the door, call the company to verify. Most companies will call first and not send someone unannounced.

If you must have food or other deliveries made to your house, call out to your husband as if he was home when you answer the door.

Have your trainee record the outgoing message for the answering machine. Not only does it help for safety reasons, it also allows you to hear his voice whenever you would like!

Drive his/her car on a regular basis so it doesn’t sit in the same parking space or spot in the driveway and people notice it being gone at times. This is also smart just to maintain the car while she/he’s gone.

If you live on base/post and will be out of town, alert the MPs so they can drive by your house and just ensure everything is okay while you are gone.

If you notice suspicious activity, notify the MPs on post or the police off post. It’s better safe than sorry. Many times, they will step up patrols around your home if you explain the situation to them.

Practice OPSEC and PERSEC online. Don’t give out too much personally identifiable information when you are online. Even though you may belong to an Army spouse only group, there is no way to guarantee everyone is an Military person/spouse/family. Be smart online.

This information is not meant to scare you but just to make you aware of things you can do to help ensure your safety when he’s away. What tips do you have? Any safety strategies you always use when he’s away?

NOTE: This information was compiled and added by Lorraine Silva and Diane D.