Senior executives are increasingly becoming prime targets for cyberattacks, with a portion of organizations reporting incidents involving this group. In fact, a recent study by GetApp found that over two-thirds of U.S. cybersecurity professionals have seen their senior executives targeted in the past 18 months. This trend is fueled by the growing sophistication of attacks, including the use of AI-generated deepfakes, which have been involved in a substantial number of cases.
Identity fraud is another major concern, with over half of U.S. companies reporting at least one incident affecting a senior executive in the last 18 months, higher than the global average.
The consequences of identity fraud are severe. Stolen identities are used for various malicious purposes, such as fraudulent financial transactions, identity theft and social engineering attacks. These incidents typically lead to financial losses, damage to reputation and operational disruptions.
Despite the clear and present danger, many organizations are failing to adequately protect their top leaders. Companies do not provide specialized cybersecurity training to their senior executives. Therefore, businesses are urged to implement cybersecurity strategies that include ongoing training, advanced security tools and proactive measures to address emerging threats.
“Companies' senior executives hold crucial business data, keeping them in the crosshairs of cybercriminals,” said David Jani, Senior Security Analyst at GetApp. “There’s a pressing need for businesses to prioritize specialized cybersecurity training for their leadership teams.”
One solution to look at is the Executive Protection Service offered by SlashNext.
SlashNext's mission is to protect individuals and organizations worldwide against the dangers of BEC, phishing, ransomware and other cybercrime attacks across all email, mobile and web messaging channels.
As for the Executive Protection Service, the name is self-explanatory (but we will still go over the details). This Executive Proteciton Service is designed to protect high-value individuals, such as board directors, executive officers, accounts payable, HR and other business leaders, across various channels, including email, mobile apps and web-based communication platforms.
By blocking executive impersonation attempts, account takeovers, phishing attacks and other malicious activities, SlashNext helps safeguard sensitive information and prevent financial losses. The service is particularly effective at countering advanced threats like BEC and targeted spear-phishing campaigns.
In addition to email security, SlashNext protects against mobile threats, such as SMS phishing and mobile web phishing attacks. This is especially important for executives who frequently use their mobile devices for work and personal communication. The service also provides protection for web-based communication platforms, such as Teams, Slack, Zoom and SharePoint, to safeguard emerging threats like Midnight Blizzard attacks.
“AI-generated phishing and social engineering attacks targeting executives and high value employees has grown exponentially since the release of ChatGPT," said Patrick Harr, CEO of SlashNext. "Our Executive Protection Service fights AI with AI and ensures organizations of any size can protect their most targeted individuals against advanced phishing, social engineering and cybercrime threats responsible for the vast majority of successful ransomware, financial fraud and data breaches."
The service, backed by a 100% guaranteed privacy policy, is crucial for safeguarding high-value individuals from cyber threats. By preventing financial loss, protecting sensitive information and mitigating reputation damage, the service helps organizations maintain their operations and success.
Given the growing sophistication of cyberattacks, demand for security solutions like SlashNext's is only expected to increase. In the next two to three years, maybe we see the service, and others similar to it, expand its threat coverage, integrate with other security tools and enhance its user experience. Who knows, maybe they’ll expand it to other employees outside of the corporate level because once malicious actors breach, no matter the entry point, they have access to all data within that organization. Only time will tell, though.
As for the MSP industry, SlashNext's service can only enhance MSPs’ existing cybersecurity offerings to help them further differentiate themselves in a competitive market and attract new business. With this, there is potential for MSPs to generate additional revenue streams.
Edited by
Alex Passett
