Close Executive Protection on the Rise

The events of the past few years have brough the private-security industry to the front of media attention and increased scrutiny. But taking certain precautions has become standard in top-tier executive life. Companies are devising ways to protect business travelers in dangerous parts of the world and safeguard corporate assets, intelligence, and reputations.

Thefts, kidnappings, and cases of industrial espionage have been gradually increasing in recent years as law enforcement’s attention has been diverted toward terrorism. According to the Safe Travel Institute in Spokane, Washington, there have been roughly 20,000 kidnappings for financial gain worldwide since 2001. And the federal Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, which assesses intelligence threats to the United States, recorded more than 2,400 new investigations of suspected industrial espionage against U.S. companies in a record 108 countries between October 2004 and September 2005.

As a result, insurance companies that cover corporations are demanding that executives upgrade their level of security when traveling. Having a private-security detail may ward off potential problems, but it also enables companies to privately handle something that might be embarrassing or that could open them up to potential lawsuits if made public.

It’s hard to get to diplomats, so what’s another high-value target? There are some situations a company doesn’t want to initially report to the police, such as missing laptops with sensitive information, which presents image and liability issues, or an executive having a good time-with everything that entails. Where your standard bodyguard might stop an immediate threat, a security detail would go one step further and fix the problem that required the security detail to begin with.

V.I.P.’s are rarely told “no” by employees, so security may need to improvise ways to keep the rich, famous, and careless from making unsafe choices-hiring a car service if the client is too drunk to drive, for instance, or protecting them from locals who specifically target clients for money or corporate secrets.