{
  "code": "TRADE-04",
  "slug": "cover-degradation",
  "title": "Cover Degradation and Repair",
  "category": "Tradecraft",
  "status": "Current",
  "version": "2.0.4-wip",
  "summary": "Defines how repeated inconsistencies, exposure, competence gaps, and relationship damage degrade a cover and how it may be repaired.",
  "keywords": [
    "cover integrity",
    "legend",
    "exposure",
    "repair",
    "access"
  ],
  "mission_phases": [
    "Plan",
    "Access",
    "Collect",
    "Extract",
    "Debrief"
  ],
  "canonical": "https://iarpg.com/standard/cover-degradation",
  "json": "https://iarpg.com/records/cover-degradation.json",
  "requirements": [
    {
      "level": "MUST",
      "text": "Cover degradation arise from inspectable events rather than a hidden arbitrary meter."
    },
    {
      "level": "MUST",
      "text": "The interface distinguish document mismatch, behavioral mismatch, competence mismatch, relationship damage, and direct exposure."
    },
    {
      "level": "SHOULD",
      "text": "Repair require plausible time, resources, relationships, or changed access rather than an instant reset."
    }
  ],
  "research": [
    {
      "label": "Cover construction and maintenance",
      "href": "/docs/report/the-architecture-of-deception-constructing-and-maintaining-cover-backgrounds-in-modern-espionage#the-architecture-of-deception-constructing-and-maintaining-cover-backgrounds-in-modern-espionage",
      "note": "Long-form cover background and congruence research."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "cover-identity-and-congruence",
    "surveillance-detection-and-counter-surveillance",
    "compromise-abort-handling"
  ],
  "roles": [
    "Operative",
    "Handler",
    "Intelligence Analyst",
    "Technical Operator",
    "Counterintelligence Officer",
    "Liaison Officer",
    "Logistics Specialist",
    "Source Handler"
  ],
  "interaction_types": [
    "Review",
    "Decide",
    "Record",
    "Handoff"
  ],
  "authority_types": [
    "Civil administration",
    "Military command",
    "Commercial intelligence service",
    "International verification body",
    "Scientific or infrastructure consortium",
    "Independent investigative network"
  ],
  "collection_disciplines": [],
  "conformance_level": "Level C — Auditable",
  "implementation_maturity": "Published WIP",
  "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-degradation.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-04 before advancing the relevant state and writes the result to the local event log with a UTC timestamp and reason code.",
  "evidence_requirement": "Reviewable provenance required",
  "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."
    }
  ]
}