By Alan Saquella and Tim Sharpe
In the evolving world of executive protection (EP), the days of focusing solely on physical security are over. Today’s EP professionals are responsible for an ever-expanding array of duties, from travel logistics and site assessments to digital threat monitoring and cyber hygiene education. This growing workload is pushing teams to rethink traditional approaches, and one question now stands at the forefront of that discussion:
Should executive protection teams begin outsourcing advance operations to specialized agencies or companies?
As insider threats and cyber risks surge, EP professionals are expected to manage both the physical safety and digital security of their principals. This dual burden, once divided between multiple disciplines, is now frequently shouldered by one protective team. The result? Burnout, stretched resources, and an increasing potential for oversight.
Redefined Insider Risks
Traditionally, insider threats referred to employees or contractors with access to sensitive information who could intentionally or unintentionally cause harm. However, as the lines between physical and digital threats continue to blur, insider risks now also include cyberattacks aimed at executives through compromised insiders, negligent users, or malicious actors operating within or around the organization.
Modern EP teams must now understand and mitigate threats that don’t stem from a lone stalker in a parking garage, but from a USB drive plugged into a hotel business center, a compromised Wi-Fi network in a private jet lounge, or a fake email spoofed from a CEO’s domain.
A New Burden on EP Professionals
Let’s look at what today’s executive protection agents are expected to manage:
- Cybersecurity Awareness – Recognizing phishing attempts, deepfakes, SIM swap scams, and social engineering tactics.
- Digital Footprint Monitoring – Regularly auditing the online presence of principals to remove vulnerabilities.
- Technical Travel Security – Protecting devices on the go, ensuring secure connections, and safeguarding against location tracking. This is especially critical when executives travel to countries where the internet environment is highly surveilled or compromised. In such regions, the “dirty internet” presents a real and pervasive threat; governments or hostile actors may have deep access to networks, data traffic, and even personal devices. Here, simply logging on to hotel Wi-Fi can expose sensitive communications or open the door to long-term surveillance. For these scenarios, deploying a dedicated secure communications infrastructure or travel kit becomes a non-negotiable part of the protection strategy.
- Physical Advance Work – Traveling ahead of the principal to assess venues, hotels, routes, and emergency protocols.
- Crisis Management and Coordination – Working with internal departments and external law enforcement or cybersecurity teams to respond in real time. Each of these elements is critical. Yet when a single team or individual is responsible for them all, especially during demanding travel schedules, something inevitably suffers.
The Case for Outsourcing Advance Work
Advance work, the task of visiting and securing a site before the principal arrives, is a core component of executive protection. It’s time-consuming, labor-intensive, and often undervalued. However, it is essential for mitigating risks and ensuring smooth operations.
In a world where EP professionals must also be digital bodyguards, does it make sense to outsource the advance?
Consider this model:
A specialized firm or local agency, vetted and trained in your organization’s protocols, conducts the advance detail. They perform reconnaissance, establish security perimeters, coordinate venue contacts, and compile reports. Once the principal arrives with their primary EP team, the local advance team hands off the operation seamlessly.
This model offers several benefits:
• Time Efficiency: EP agents can focus on the principal’s immediate safety and cyber posture instead of splitting time and attention.
• Reduced Burnout: Teams are less stretched, reducing the mental and physical toll of back-to-back assignments.
• Local Expertise: Outsourced teams often have local knowledge, contacts, and insights that an internal team flying in may not.
• Scalability: Organizations can quickly scale up protection capabilities without needing to expand their core team.
The Hybrid Protector: New Skills Required
To truly protect executives today, EP professionals must blend traditional and modern skills:
- Obtain cybersecurity certifications (e.g., CISSP, CEH).
- Work with IT teams to develop incident response plans.
- Train principals in cyber hygiene and secure communication practices.
- Use OSINT tools to detect threats on social media and the dark web.
- Participate in simulated cyberattack drills.
But developing these competencies takes time that may not exist if agents are constantly on the road doing advance work.
A Strategic Question for the Industry
So, here’s the question for today’s EP professionals and corporate security leaders:
This isn’t about cutting corners, it’s about evolving with the threat landscape. Just as cybersecurity teams now outsource penetration testing or threat intelligence, EP teams may need to adapt and lean on vetted partners for specific tasks. The question is not if the model is viable, but whether it is time for the industry to adopt it more widely.
Evolving to Meet the Challenge
The executive protection field is at a crossroads. The job has grown more complex, and the threat landscape is more dynamic than ever. While core EP responsibilities remain, the rise of cyber threats, especially in regions with aggressive surveillance infrastructure, has reshaped what it means to protect someone.
To keep pace without compromising quality, organizations must evaluate where responsibilities lie and where they might be better delegated. Outsourcing advance work, when done with care and collaboration, could free EP professionals to focus on where they are most valuable: anticipating, detecting, and responding to emerging threats in real time.
Balancing the workload isn’t just about efficiency, it’s about effectiveness. And in the world of executive protection, effectiveness is everything.