Advanced system leverages large language model (LLM)-based agents to safeguard military operations from exploitation of publicly available information
Woburn, MA, Feb. 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aptima, Inc., a leader in optimizing human performance through innovative technologies, announced today the successful completion of its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate. This milestone marks an important step in advancing OPSHIELD, the Operation Protection System using Holistic Intelligence Extraction from Logistics Data.
OPSHIELD is a cutting-edge system that integrates disparate publicly available data sources, utilizes pattern of life (PoL) analysis, and determines whether operations expose data that can be exploited by adversaries and put the mission at risk.
Currently, planners at every echelon must include an Operations Security (OPSEC) annex with each plan, identifying indicators that adversaries might detect. Countermeasures must be determined to reduce the likelihood or severity of exploiting these indicators. Given the vast amount of publicly available information (PAI) online, operationally relevant data may represent only a small fraction of the data. These OPSEC processes are highly manual with planners often investigating multiple specific PAI datasets that individually do not reveal movements but when aggregated may pose a risk.
As the United States shifts its focus to potential conflicts with near-peer adversaries who can exploit modern technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), it becomes critical for commanders to understand and mitigate risks to mission success. Achieving this will require planners to efficiently identify, characterize, and address indicators from PAI.
During OPSHIELD Phase I, Aptima successfully developed and demonstrated the use of large language model (LLM)-based agents that enabled users to ask OPSEC-specific questions tailored to their organization’s unique data and context, without the need for additional training data or fine-tuning. This was achieved by leveraging the advanced capabilities of LLM models to interpret, reason with, and extract annotated relational knowledge from text. The OPSHIELD prototype showcased the ability to identify OPSEC indicators, pinpoint disclosed information, and suggest mitigation actions. Aptima’s innovative approach enabled the prototype agent to generate accurate, context-specific responses, even for scenarios not previously encountered by the LLM.
“Completing this SBIR Phase I is a significant achievement for our team,” said Dr. Robert McCormack, Aptima’s OPSHIELD Principal Investigator and its Director of Intelligent Performance Analytics Division. “The progress we’ve made positions us well for future development of an integrated, LLM-based planning tool that allows operation planners to quantify the risk of each operation plan and provide recommendations to minimize the highest risk factors and increase operation success.”
“The OPSHIELD prototype not only demonstrated how large language models can be used to reduce the amount of time currently required by planners to manually parse PAI, but effectively demonstrated zero-shot discovery of OPSEC activity patterns in scenarios it hadn’t previously encountered,” added Lauren Fortier, Aptima’s OPSHIELD Project Manager.
While Phase I funding has concluded, opportunities remain to continue the maturation of this technology through SBIR Phase II and Phase III funding pathways. Aptima is actively pursuing additional funding and partnership opportunities to advance this innovation toward full-scale implementation.
As part of its strategy for next steps, Aptima is exploring collaborations with potential customers, industry partners, and government stakeholders to further enhance and transition this technology into real-world applications.
About Aptima, Inc.
Aptima, Inc. is a leader in optimizing human performance through innovative technologies that blend behavioral science, artificial intelligence, and advanced analytics. For 30 years, Aptima has delivered groundbreaking solutions in training, readiness, and human-machine teaming for industries including defense, healthcare, and education. Its intelligent systems enhance decision making, training, and operational efficiency by harnessing data-driven insights and adaptive tools. For more information, visit www.aptima.com.
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