Extensive research by BlackCloak and Ponemon Institute reveals alarming findings on the growing threat of executive personal cyber-attacks, lack of readiness, and safeguards in place

 

 

Lake Mary, FL – June 5, 2023 – BlackCloak, the pioneer in Digital Executive Protection for executives, board members, and senior leaders, today, in collaboration with Ponemon Institute, published the Understanding the Serious Risk to Executives’ Personal Digital Lives Report. The report reveals alarming findings about the growing threat of cyber attacks on the personal digital lives of executives and the lack of preparedness among organizations to prevent and mitigate potential damage. 

The comprehensive study assesses the understanding and readiness of 553 US-based cybersecurity leaders in dealing with the vulnerabilities associated with executives’ personal digital lives and the necessary steps to protect them. “The study underscores the critical gap in cybersecurity readiness and the urgent need for organizations to enhance their protection of executives’ personal digital lives,” said Dr. Chris Pierson, CEO and Founder of BlackCloak, and Distinguished Fellow of the Ponemon Institute. 

“Our findings indicate that CISOs are seeing real harm that equates at the same level of a corporate data breach incident associated with risks to corporate executives,” said Dr. Larry Ponemon, Chairman and Founder of the Ponemon Institute. “With the attack surface being significantly expanded to include the home and personal devices, key breaches in the past year that have resulted from key employees being targeted, and the reality that CISOs believe executives’ personal cybersecurity is a risk, the time to mitigate this risk is now.”

The research sheds light on the critical need for enhanced cybersecurity measures to safeguard executives, as the attacks are primarily designed to hack into corporate systems. Key findings from the study include:

1. 42% of companies have already experienced cybercriminal attacks on their executives or their executives’ families, resulting in serious negative consequences for the organization.
2. 78% of organizations have encountered theft of corporate intellectual property, research and development data, or business strategy information as a result of these attacks.
3. 66% of companies have suffered the loss of customers or business partners due to cyber attacks on executives.
4. 27% of organizations have experienced theft of customer or employee data through attacks targeting executives’ personal digital lives.

These statistics confirm the urgent need for organizations to prioritize cybersecurity measures aimed at protecting executives’ personal digital lives. “Cybercriminal threats targeting executives’ personal lives are diverse and include email compromise, ransomware, malware infection, doxxing, extortion, online impersonation, swatting, and even physical attacks,” said Pierson.

Despite these alarming figures, the study reveals that only a small percentage of cybersecurity professionals feel confident in their executives’ ability to protect themselves:

1. Only 9% of cybersecurity professionals are highly confident that their CEO or executives would know how to protect their personal computer from viruses.
   
2. Merely 22% of cybersecurity professionals express high confidence in their executives’ ability to secure personal emails.
   

BlackCloak, a leading provider of comprehensive cybersecurity solutions, stands at the forefront of protecting corporate executives and high-profile individuals from cybersecurity, privacy, financial, and reputational risks. To learn more about BlackCloak and their industry-leading cybersecurity solutions, please visit www.blackcloak.io. Stay up-to-date with their latest news and insights by following them on LinkedIn and Twitter.

 

About BlackCloak

BlackCloak protects corporate executives, high-access employees, and high-net-worth individuals and families from targeted cyberattacks, online fraud, and other risks to them and their companies through their personal digital lives. Used by Fortune 1000s and mid-market organizations across all industries, BlackCloak’s SaaS-based digital executive protection solution protects the digital privacy, personal devices, and home networks of people with little time and a lot to lose. Executives and high-profile individuals get peace of mind knowing that their family, wealth, reputation, and finances are secured. Corporate security teams rest easy knowing that their organization is protected from threats to IP, finances, physical security, data and other digital assets that originate in their executives’ personal digital lives.

 

About Ponemon Institute 

Ponemon Institute is dedicated to independent research and education that advances responsible information and privacy management practices within business and government. Our mission is to conduct high-quality, empirical studies on critical issues affecting the management and security of sensitive information about people and organizations. We uphold strict data confidentiality, privacy, and ethical research standards. We do not collect any personally identifiable information from individuals (or company identifiable information in our business research). Furthermore, we have strict quality standards to ensure that subjects are not asked extraneous, irrelevant, or improper questions. Learn more at ponemon.org

 

Media Contact:

Mike Sias

[email protected] 

BlackCloak Wins Market Leader Digital Executive Protection in 11th Annual Global InfoSec Awards at #RSAC 2023

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – APRIL 24, 2023 – BlackCloak is proud to announce we have won the following award from Cyber Defense Magazine (CDM), the industry’s leading electronic information security magazine – Market Leader Digital Executive Protection.

“We’re thrilled to receive one of the most prestigious and coveted cybersecurity awards in the world from Cyber Defense Magazine, during its 11th anniversary as an independent cybersecurity news and information provider.  We knew the competition would be tough and with top judges who are leading infosec experts from around the globe, we couldn’t be more pleased,” said Dr. Chris Pierson, CEO and Founder of BlackCloak.

“BlackCloak embodies three major features we judges look for to become winners: understanding tomorrow’s threats, today, providing a cost-effective solution and innovating in unexpected ways that can help mitigate cyber risk and get one step ahead of the next breach,” said Gary S. Miliefsky, Publisher of Cyber Defense Magazine.

“As the targets of malicious cybersecurity activity expands from the corporate infrastructure to the personal lives of those that sit at the highest ranks of those corporations, BlackCloak has been at the forefront of mitigating the risks,” said John Funge, managing director at DataTribe and BlackCloak board member. “It’s exciting and rewarding to witness its solution offering be recognized for the game changer that it is.”

We’re thrilled to be a member on this coveted group of winners, located here:   http://www.cyberdefenseawards.com/

Please join us at the #RSAC RSA Conference 2023, https://bc.blackcloak.io/rsa2023, and meet with us to learn more about our award-winning Digital Executive Protection(TM) services and solutions. 

 

About BlackCloak

BlackCloak protects corporate executives and high-profile individuals from cybersecurity, privacy, financial, and other reputational risks. Used by Fortune 500 companies across all industries, the BlackCloak Concierge Cybersecurity & Privacy™ Platform is a holistic solution including mobile and desktop apps as well as concierge support. Executives and high-profile individuals get peace of mind knowing their family, reputation, and finances are secured. Companies rest assured that their brand, intellectual property, data, and finances are protected against threats coming through executives without having to invade their personal lives. Learn more at www.blackcloak.io, follow them on LinkedIn and Twitter. 

 

About Cyber Defense Magazine

Cyber Defense Magazine is the premier source of cyber security news and information for InfoSec professionals in business and government. We are managed and published by and for ethical, honest, passionate information security professionals. Our mission is to share cutting-edge knowledge, real-world stories and awards on the best ideas, products, and services in the information technology industry.  We deliver electronic magazines every month online for free, and special editions exclusively for the RSA Conferences. CDM is a proud member of the Cyber Defense Media Group. Learn more about us at https://www.cyberdefensemagazine.com and visit https://www.cyberdefensetv.com and https://www.cyberdefenseradio.com to see and hear some of the most informative interviews of many of these winning company executives.  Join a webinar at https://www.cyberdefensewebinars.com and realize that infosec knowledge is power. 

 

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Media Contact:

Mike Sias

[email protected] 

 

CDM Media Inquiries:

Contact:                 Irene Noser, Marketing Executive

Email:                     [email protected] 

Toll Free (USA):    1-833-844-9468

International:       1-646-586-9545

Website:               www.cyberdefensemagazine.com

ORLANDO, FL, April 11, 2023 – BlackCloak, the pioneer in Digital Executive Protection and concierge cybersecurity for executives and senior leaders, high net worth individuals, and family offices, today announced that a new national survey conducted in partnership with the Ponemon Institute found that cyber attacks on the personal digital lives of executives are a growing threat, but most companies are unprepared to prevent them or to mitigate the potential damage to their organizations.

The study, which polled over 500 cybersecurity professionals across all major industries, found that 42% of companies have already experienced cybercriminal attacks on their executives or their executives’ families which had serious negative consequences for the organization. Some of these organizational impacts include: loss of customers or business partners (66%); theft of corporate intellectual property, research and development data, or business strategy information (78%); and theft of customer or employee data (27%).

“Based on our first-of-its kind national survey focused on the digital personal lives of corporate executives, we found that 62% of organizations do not have a team dedicated to preventing or responding to cyber attacks on executives and their families,” said Dr. Larry Ponemon, Chairman and Founder of the Ponemon Institute. “Even more astounding is that 79% of those surveyed believe that a future risk of cyber attack on these executives is likely. It’s not a problem that companies can afford to sweep under the rug.”

“The results of our study confirm what our team is seeing day in and day out in our discussions with senior cybersecurity leaders – corporations are not well prepared to face cyber threats against their executives in their private lives,” said Dr. Chris Pierson, CEO and Founder of BlackCloak. “With only 9% of cybersecurity professionals highly confident that their CEO or executives would know how to protect their personal computer from viruses, and only 22% when it comes to securing personal emails, it paints a pretty dismal picture.”

BlackCloak has observed a wide range of cybercriminal threats which are actively targeting the personal digital lives of executives. These include email compromise, ransomware, malware infection, doxxing, extortion, online impersonation and even physical attacks, such as swatting.

The complete BlackCloak research report will be published in May 2023. Click here to download BlackCloak’s infographic with preliminary results. To get on the list to receive a copy as soon as the full report is published, click here. 

 

RSA Conference 2023

BlackCloak will be attending RSA 2023 this year, offering several ways for attendees to meet and mingle with its leadership team. Click here to: 

• Register for its Happy Hour party on Monday, April 24
• Schedule a 1:1 meeting with the BlackCloak leadership team (including the CEO, CISO, or VP of Sales), or 
• Attend a Learning Lab led by Dr. Pierson. 

About Ponemon Institute

Ponemon Institute is dedicated to independent research and education that advances responsible information and privacy management practices within business and government. Our mission is to conduct high-quality, empirical studies on critical issues affecting the management and security of sensitive information about people and organizations. We uphold strict data confidentiality, privacy, and ethical research standards. We do not collect any personally identifiable information from individuals (or company identifiable information in our business research). Furthermore, we have strict quality standards to ensure that subjects are not asked extraneous, irrelevant, or improper questions. Learn more at ponemon.org. 

About BlackCloak

BlackCloak protects corporate executives and high-profile individuals from cybersecurity, privacy, financial, and other reputational risks. Used by Fortune 500 companies across all industries, the BlackCloak Concierge Cybersecurity & Privacy™ Platform is a holistic solution including mobile and desktop apps as well as concierge support. Executives and high-profile individuals get peace of mind knowing their family, reputation, and finances are secured. Companies rest assured that their brand, intellectual property, data, and finances are protected against threats coming through executives without having to invade their personal lives. Learn more at www.blackcloak.io, follow them on LinkedIn and Twitter. 

Media Contact:

Mike Sias

[email protected]