Ransomware is digital kidnapping and leaves a devastating impact on its victims.
Ransomware is a dangerous cyber threat. Criminals use ransomware to extort money from victims by locking their data for payment. In this digital kidnapping, data is held hostage instead of a person. Executive protection agents (EP) should consider their client’s risk for a ransomware attack.
EP agents are the gatekeepers of their client’s well-being and security. In the digital age, it is essential that EP agents consider how to protect their clients from cyber threats such as a ransomware attack. A ransomware attack is financially and emotionally devastating, making the agent's role in preventing one all the more important. I think EP agents have to worry about extortion more than the actual loss of trivial data. High-profile clients have certainly made the rounds in the news cycle as their personal photos and other data were exploited.
Is an average EP agent prepared for a ransomware attack? Absolutely not, so now is the time to get ahead of the curve, get some skills, and stand out in the EP world. You'll need a full-blown incident response firm on your side, but learn the basics, and you will be the one to open those lines of communication in your client's weakest moment. It’s also worth considering cyber insurance for your client. The insurance firm should have retainers with incident response firms to help remediate the threat.
Like all things in executive protection, there needs to be a risk assessment to evaluate the client’s ability to recover from such an incident. Teams must have contingency plans to address any potential risks related to data security, including backups of important information stored remotely or on external hard drives. Get familiar with, and implement the [3-2-1 model](https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/sites/default/files/publications/data_backup_options.pdf).
Cybercriminals can launch a ransomware attack without leaving the comfort of their homes, making this malicious threat all the more insidious. Businesses and organizations make better targets for a ransomware attack compared to a single executive, but it’s certainly worth discussing in team meetings.
