Take a crash course in the evolution of armored vehicles and physical security for assets on the move. While the first armored vehicles was built around 1870, advanced technologies have turned protection vehicles into sensing and surveillance machines.
Failure of imagination leads to most crises. As the pandemic persists, vaccinations and vaccine resistance increases, mass shootings rise, and racial and political unrest show few signs of ebbing, seemingly impossible "what if" scenarios are our everyday reality. But can we prevent and protect ourselves from the bad impossibilities? In my experience, if we believe it can happen, then we can look for that trouble, see around corners and potentially head off bad situations. This is why opportunities for protective intelligence analysts are growing and, as digital transformation continues, will be one of the most in-demand roles at corporations alongside cybersecurity experts.
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.
