{
  "code": "TRADE-01",
  "slug": "cover-identity-and-congruence",
  "title": "Cover Identity and Congruence",
  "category": "Tradecraft",
  "status": "Current",
  "version": "2.0.4-wip",
  "summary": "Cover is a persistent system of identity, access, behavior, records, competence, relationships, and exposure—not a costume slot.",
  "keywords": [
    "cover",
    "legend",
    "identity",
    "congruence",
    "access",
    "behavior",
    "backstopping"
  ],
  "mission_phases": [
    "Plan",
    "Access",
    "Collect",
    "Extract"
  ],
  "canonical": "https://iarpg.com/standard/cover-identity-and-congruence",
  "json": "https://iarpg.com/records/cover-identity-and-congruence.json",
  "requirements": [
    {
      "level": "MUST",
      "text": "A cover define identity, occupation, purpose, access rationale, expected competence, records, relationships, and exposure indicators."
    },
    {
      "level": "MUST",
      "text": "Suspicion respond to incongruence among behavior, environment, documentation, and known history rather than a hidden alignment score."
    },
    {
      "level": "SHOULD",
      "text": "Cover consequences persist across operations and permit repair, reinforcement, compartmentation, or retirement."
    },
    {
      "level": "MAY",
      "text": "Multiple covers coexist with separate access, relationships, and risk histories."
    }
  ],
  "research": [
    {
      "label": "Taxonomy of cover identities",
      "href": "/docs/report/cover-identities-and-tradecraft-in-espionage-executive-summary#taxonomy-of-cover-identities",
      "note": "Cover types, verification, and risk."
    },
    {
      "label": "Maintaining the legend",
      "href": "/docs/report/the-architecture-of-deception-constructing-and-maintaining-cover-backgrounds-in-modern-espionage#maintaining-the-legend-operational-tradecraft-and-communications",
      "note": "Persistent identity maintenance and communications."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "player-interaction-and-social-stealth",
    "surveillance-detection-and-counter-surveillance",
    "source-handling"
  ],
  "release": "IARPG-OPS-2",
  "revised_utc": "2026-07-20T12:04:07Z",
  "purpose": "Translate cover, access, surveillance awareness, communications, and compartmentation into fictional game interactions.",
  "rationale": "Tradecraft becomes meaningful when player behavior, access rationale, and operational signatures affect mission state.",
  "game_interaction": [
    "Maintain cover",
    "Read attention cues",
    "Use compartmented channel",
    "Change route or meeting plan"
  ],
  "inputs": [
    "Cover profile",
    "Access rationale",
    "Communications plan"
  ],
  "outputs": [
    "Cover-integrity state",
    "Exposure indicators",
    "Operational communications record"
  ],
  "state_transitions": [
    {
      "from": "not-applicable",
      "event": "record requirement evaluated",
      "to": "conforming-or-documented-exception"
    }
  ],
  "evidence_and_provenance": [
    "The implementation records the source, UTC event time, mission identifier, responsible role, and reason code for consequential state changes.",
    "Generated dialogue and player interpretation are not stored as authoritative facts without a separate verification event."
  ],
  "ui_requirements": [
    "Show the record code and requirement level at the point of use.",
    "Expose the reason for blocked, failed, escalated, or irreversible actions.",
    "Provide a direct link to the canonical standard and machine-readable record."
  ],
  "accessibility_requirements": [
    "Essential information is available without reliance on color, audio, motion, or a VR-only gesture.",
    "Keyboard, screen-reader, reduced-motion, seated-play, and high-contrast equivalents are documented where the interaction applies."
  ],
  "telemetry_events": [
    {
      "name": "standard.cover-identity-and-congruence.evaluated",
      "required_fields": [
        "event_id",
        "timestamp_utc",
        "mission_id",
        "record_code",
        "result",
        "reason_code"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "abuse_and_exploit_cases": [
    "A participant attempts to omit required context so another role accepts a misleading task.",
    "A generated or user-authored statement is presented as server-authoritative without verification.",
    "A consequential state transition occurs without a durable reason code."
  ],
  "failure_behavior": "Fail closed for irreversible or settlement-bearing actions. Preserve the current state, show the missing requirement, and allow correction or documented exception review.",
  "recovery_behavior": "Restore from the last authoritative event, retain the rejected transition in the audit log, and require a new validated event before continuing.",
  "example_implementation": "A mission interface evaluates TRADE-01 before advancing the relevant state and writes the result to the local event log with a UTC timestamp and reason code.",
  "roles": [
    "Operative",
    "Handler",
    "Intelligence Analyst"
  ],
  "authority_types": [
    "Civil administration",
    "Military command",
    "Commercial intelligence service",
    "International verification body",
    "Scientific consortium",
    "Independent investigative network"
  ],
  "collection_disciplines": [],
  "interaction_types": [
    "Maintain cover",
    "Read attention cues",
    "Use compartmented channel"
  ],
  "evidence_requirement": "Reviewable provenance required",
  "conformance_level": "Level B — Playable",
  "implementation_maturity": "Published WIP",
  "related_examples": [
    "port-access-anomaly-investigation"
  ],
  "revision_history": [
    {
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "date_utc": "2026-07-19",
      "note": "Initial IARPG-OPS-1 publication."
    },
    {
      "version": "2.0.1-wip",
      "date_utc": "2026-07-19",
      "note": "Expanded for IARPG-OPS-2 workbench, simulation, evidence, accessibility, telemetry, and machine-readable publication."
    },
    {
      "version": "2.0.2-wip",
      "date_utc": "2026-07-19T16:42:07Z",
      "change": "Reviewed for operation-package lifecycle compatibility and local tool integration."
    },
    {
      "version": "2.0.3-wip",
      "date_utc": "2026-07-19T18:45:50Z",
      "note": "Reviewed for integrity-aware package verification, merge, multi-role replay, custody comparison, batch review, backup, publication preview, and release-promotion workflows."
    },
    {
      "version": "2.0.4-wip",
      "date_utc": "2026-07-20T12:04:07Z",
      "note": "Reviewed for canonicalization, round-trip portability, recovery, provenance, compatibility, accessibility, hosting evidence, and stable-promotion gates."
    }
  ]
}