Whaling, highly targeted social engineering attacks aimed at senior executives, as well as executive impersonations, have seen an increase of 131% between Q1 2020 and Q1 2021, according to GreatHorn.
Moderna disclosed that it spent a modest amount on security for CEO Stéphane Bancel last year and other Moderna executives in the $1 million range, though it had previously spent nothing on executive protection.
The field of executive protection has been expanding and redefining itself in real-time. Today, executive protection has advanced far beyond securing locations and bodies in the physical realm to also safeguarding online identities and reputations in the digital realm.
Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas announced changes and additions to the NBA team's staff. In addition to several changes announced in coaching and other staff members, Tony Adams was promoted to Director of Team Security.
Up to 85 percent of attacks on principals happen in or around a vehicle, says Greg Threatt of Threatt Protection Services in a recent Security article, What to Look for in Travel Security and Executive Protection Services. Threatt concludes that having a security-trained driver is paramount to a successful executive protection program.
In an enterprise with a robust Executive Protection (EP) program, it is the job of that team to ensure the physical safety of the principal and also the principal’s and his or her organization’s reputations.
After the 2017 Brazilian Grand Prix, a Mercedes F1 Grand Prix team minibus full of team members leaving the F1 Circuit in Sao Paulo was robbed at gunpoint. Valuables were stolen from the minibus during the attack. What could security personnel have done differently to mitigate the risk of such an attack?
We need to change the conversation about corporate EP, whether we’re talking to clients or each other in the industry, by lifting it up to a higher level.
