A company’s board of directors, leadership, and executives are sources of privileged, sensitive, and confidential information. That is what makes them an ideal suspect to primary attack vendors for hackers.
Owing to these situations of susceptibility, having a robust executive protection program for businesses holds importance. And why not? A Grand Rapids business must have a program for protecting its individuals- both off the paramount and online.
As per recent research by FBR, CEO fraud is a $12 billion scam. Online exposure of their high net-worth and high-profile, they have a significant risk for both these individuals and their businesses. It may come as a surprise to know that Facebook’s Board of Directors granted Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg a yearly allowance of $10 million. A surprise is that this amount goes into his personnel, services, and services for keeping him and his family safe.
However, it’s not just high-profile executives that need sophisticated protection. People with steady wealth are hacker’s targets in today’s world. Therefore, it is vital to practice utmost diligence for target identification and private detail exploitation.
Studies show that C-level executives have an exposure of social incident targets twelve times more. Taking business associates and their family’s safety is a crucial aspect of a business taking its safety seriously. Executives, too, need to keep their physical and cybersecurity seriously to understand the risks involved in physical and digital landscapes. Thereby, developing a suitable plan of action for your Grand Rapids business holds much importance.
Some things that hold pivotal importance for improving an executive’s security posture are:
- Beware of your Surroundings
Executives hold significant business responsibilities on their shoulders. And, that’s the reason they need to travel far and near for undertaking their jobs, and sometimes the notice is as short as a few weeks.
At a moment’s notice, there is a lack of time for preparing for anything apart from their business trip’s purpose. However, an issue of grave concern is that it has the possibility of devastating consequences. It is natural for law-abiding citizens to consider themselves as potential espionage or surveillance targets. But, underestimating themselves as a host of adversaries isn’t an understatement.
Thus, businesses must take steps to conduct a comprehensive risk analysis. And try getting in touch with security services in Grand Rapids, MI, for undertaking risk analysis. The experts may ask some questions to provide significant relief. Some of the starting ones are if there has been a history of potential threats? Does your business require them to travel to dangerous places? What are the most common threats and attacks that they’re vulnerable to?
Once you’re aware of the individuals that need protection, learning about their personal and public lifestyles holds much importance. Know that this step can be successful only when the executive agrees to complete cooperation. By doing this, security companies can get a gist of potential threats and the security measures that hold importance.
- Ensure that the Personal and Work Devices of the Executives are Secure
Almost every business interaction takes place through a mobile device. Also, many executives require using the same mobile devices for their work and related reasons.
Thus, tech experts require businesses to use different devices for their business operations. Business executives- if ensuring top-notch security and safety is on your mind, it is worth pushing a company policy to the level. After all, that dictates how many and which devices require work and how they’ll find usage.
It is also imperative for businesses to have devices that are secure and have apt protections. Ensure encrypting all the sensitive data and protect devices through an enterprise mobility management (EMM) platform.
Know that you’ll be able to ensure the security of mobile devices by protecting the enterprises and their immediate family members. And, with this, businesses must determine if all devices need password protection or not. Or if having updated antivirus software and antivirus software are essential.
- Educate Executives About Phishing or Associated Attacks
One of the biggest targets of whaling and phishing attacks are business executives. It is primarily because these people have access to the most critical data. Thus, executives need to know all that would indicate such an attack.
As a starting step, securing a business starts with programs that facilitate security awareness training programs. Know that third-party apps usually revolve around encryptions. Always make sure that it is worth isolating email communications for added security.
You can also take account of these threats by having executive assistants for phishing attack emails. Ensure imparting education among executives to be vigilant about the process of handling emails. CEO whaling phishing is an extensive set of scams wherein an adversary usually sends out emails under the pretence of a CEO. To get rid of this, it is wise to advise your company to tag or change the colours of messages outside the organization.
- Create and Enforce Rules for an Executive’s Travel
Most executives are on the road for quite a bit. These might be speaking engagements, industry events, or client visits. These frequent travel trips usually put them at risk, especially when they know travel plans well ahead of time.
Thus, it is vital to have policies and procedures about all that’s permitted during the travels. For instance, this might not allow critical executives to travel together simultaneously or via the same transportation mode.
Also, ensure that the travel policy covers the use of mobile devices on the road. One of these includes executives who should not take their primary laptop computer on a business trip. Instead, companies must provide them with a loaner device for storing sensitive data, if any.
Key Takeaways
Being aware is already the half battle won. However, knowing what to do in the other half also holds much importance.
Since the lines between physical and cyber-attacks have become blurrier than ever, security teams require working together. This work will help them detect online risks and develop clear action plans for addressing them in the real world if the need arises.
Hopefully, these ways could give you insights into protecting your Grand Rapids business executives in the best possible manner.
