During a cyber crisis, the people running the business are often at the heart of it – especially for SMEs. Senior executives often have to manage the fallout in real time, speaking to customers, managing operational disruption and helping drive the recovery. And to make matters even more complicated, these same executives are becoming targets themselves.
What starts as a cyber event can quickly spill into their personal lives, resulting in fraud, identity compromise, extortion or even threats to physical safety. On top of that, many senior executives now find themselves impacted by cyber incidents outside of a work context, whether it’s malware downloaded onto a personal device, a cyber extortion threat against them as individuals, or a phishing campaign geared to persuade them into transferring personal funds to a fraudster.
That's why we've expanded our Cyber Proactive Response (CPR) policy to include executive protection cover – supporting not only businesses but the senior leaders who manage them. In a world where senior leaders are becoming personal targets, CFC’s coverage is evolving to reflect this trend.
Why senior executives are at risk
Threat actors have realized that exerting personal pressure on to key decision makers in the business can make their cyber attacks more effective.
Senior executives are often targeted because of their access to sensitive information and their public profile, not to mention their personal influence within the business. A compromised personal account can provide a route into business networks. There’s a human cost too, with extortion attempts putting significant pressure on the individuals involved, sometimes with that personal attention applied solely to maximize returns from the cyber attack against the business.
What is executive cyber protection, and how does it work?
Traditionally, cyber insurance has focused on helping businesses recover after an attack – and more recently, on helping stop attacks before they happen. They're essential services, but we’re now seeing cybercriminals adapt their tactics to target senior executives – and cyber cover needs to keep up.
Included as part of our latest CPR upgrade, executive protection provides three pillars of support:
Personal cyber incident response, fraud and extortion protection to help executives recover from personal cyber attacks, identity compromise and cyber-enabled theft of personal funds.
Professional trauma counselling to support senior executives dealing with the psychological impact of a cyber incident, whether that’s in their personal or professional lives.
Relocation costs to help senior leaders and their families temporarily relocate if credible threats of harm arise from cyber extortion events affecting the company or them personally.
Protection that’s fit for today’s threats
One of the biggest shifts in cyber risk is that attackers increasingly focus on people, not just technology.
For brokers, offering executive cyber protection is a great way to stand out. Extending support to senior leaders tackles a massive, often overlooked gap. It also shows cyber incidents for what they really are – crises that hurt actual people, not just organizations.
For clients, it provides reassurance that support is available not only for the business, but also for the individuals responsible for guiding it through a crisis.
Ready to see how executive cyber protection works in action? Find our case study examples in our CPR upgrades in action.
Get in touch for a cyber insurance quote or to learn more about executive cyber protection.
