Operations security: Difference between revisions

Operations security (OPSEC) is a term describing the protection of sensitive information. Originally coined by the US military, it has been adopted in other sectors such as information technology (IT).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-06 |title=What is OPSEC? |url=https://www.sans.org/blog/what-is-opsec |access-date=2025-11-21 |website=SANS Institute |language=en}}</ref> In the context of kink, it means preventing personally identifiable information from being exposed in a way that would compromise one's social life, profession, and personal safety.

Personally identifiable information (PII) is any information that can be used to identify an individual, either alone or when paired with another piece of information.<ref>{{Cite web |title=personally identifiable information |url=https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/personally_identifiable_information |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-21 |website=NIST Computer Security Resource Center}}</ref> These can include:

Publicly posting PII makes one more vulnerable to [[wikipedia:Doxing|doxing]], where their information is disclosed publicly without consent. This can cause consequences such as loss of friends, job termination, and threats to personal physical safety.