Ep. 25 | What Is Concierge Cybersecurity™?

You may be familiar with the concierge, white-glove support that comes with luxury services. But what does it mean when applied to cybersecurity? Join BlackCloak/s Sr. Director of Customer Success Sam Styles as she explains what Concierge Cybersecurity™ is and how its applied. 

If you're interested in learning more, you can contact BlackCloak here, or visit the BlackCloak website. 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:11

Welcome to Uncloaked, a cybersecurity podcast brought to you by Black Cloak, the pioneer in digital executive protection and leader in personal cybersecurity. I'm your host, Dan Vasco, and today we are discussing what is concierge cybersecurity. And I'm joined now by Sam Stiles, head of customer success at Black Cloak. Sam, thank you so much for being here. Excited to discuss this with you today.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

So I'm gonna start with a pretty broad question to begin with, because obviously this is a big part of what we do here. Cybersecurity is a uh a wide-ranging field, but when we talk about luxury concierge cybersecurity, that's a unique aspect. So can you tell me what is concierge cybersecurity in a nutshell?

SPEAKER_01 0:57

So luxury concierge cybersecurity is that holistic approach. So it's having a whole team dedicated to you that knows around the clock what your risk profile is, they're ready to respond to you, and you know who they are. It's not just technology running in the background. So you have a whole team protecting your cybersecurity and privacy.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

And when we talk about, you know, the clientele, especially here at Black Cloak, the high net worth individual, the high profile individual, that attack surface uh is much greater. It's larger, and cyber criminals obviously are honing in on that specific target. They're more incentivized. So, given that, can you speak to the importance of having this comprehensive solution that Black Cloak offers tailored for them, which includes, of course, this concierge aspect where they can have that team they know they can rely on to respond to those incidents because it's not just about um incident response in and of itself, but it's having that team of experts that know how to take action and actually get that incident resolved.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

Exactly, exactly. So, yes, they have a wider tax surface. They cyber criminals obviously are incentivized, whether it be for notoriety, reputational damage, whatever financial, obviously. Um, and general cybersecurity practices just don't hold up in those situations. So you really need someone like Black Cloak that knows what your travel life is, what your risks are. We'll do travel assessments to tell you local uh locales and risks in those areas. We have again the whole team there. So let's say you are going to um have to speak to Congress or something that's very high profile, you can let Black Cloak know. We'll make sure that all your protections are in place and we're keeping an eye on the chatter and making sure everything's nice and uh secure.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

That's what's a really cool aspect of all of this, I think, is those unique situations, not just for the individual. We don't just, you know, assess your risk profile from the start and then end there. It's about those ad hoc situations. Hey, I'm traveling to such and such country. What's going on there? Is there anything I need to know about? Are there certain places I should uh go to? Are there certain places I should avoid? Things like that. Um that that all kind of wraps into it. So um, you know, what I'm getting from what you're saying here is it's a team of experts in a variety of uh avenues. There's some that that can respond to the incidents for you, there are some that are ready to do that threat intelligence, and there are others available to answer the questions. So that brings me to my next question about not just being incident response. You mentioned the travel uh assessments and the travel guides, which are a huge uh bonus, but it's also about being proactive when it comes to common questions or common scams. Can you speak to how the Black Low concierge team helps a member with any question that they have, whether it's, you know, hey, is this a phishing email? Or hey, what do I do in this particular situation? I'm looking at this security provider, etc. That there really is uh no limit to the questions, I suppose.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

Absolutely, absolutely. Because cybersecurity, it's not one and done. We can't just set you up and you're secure forever. There's always going to be a new threat out there. There's always gonna be something educational that you can be a little more aware and protected. So it's a journey and it can be overwhelming for some people of like, I can't keep up with all the scams and all of the threats out there, but you don't have to worry about it because you have black cloak in place. So we'll make sure that you're aware of latest and greatest scams that are coming out. We'll send out cybersecurity alerts for anything that's um actually out in the wild. Um, and then we, yeah, we have a whole team that will proactively make the cybersecurity journey totally not overwhelming. You have somebody right there to help you each step of the way, making sure you're a little more secure and not taking it all in at once and feeling overwhelmed. So you know you have that whole team to your point of from incident responders to uh asking questions such as, as this phishing email will get some of those. Um, and we always want people to ask the smallest questions. Yeah. Because the smallest little incident can actually be the start of a much greater incident. So we want to know if anything ever, hmm, this doesn't feel right, ask us and we will direct you and make sure. Um and yeah, the team goes from everything from the incident response, which are highly emotional, to you know, um, hey, we're waiting on hold for a restoration specialist for your ID theft, and we'll call you when they get back on the line. Like our team will sit there and wait on hold for you.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

See, that's that's honestly that's a huge bonus for a lot of people, I think, right? To know that they yeah, absolutely. And and also to know that you have someone in your corner that's there with you. They're not just kind of tossing you to the wolves and saying, like, oh, hey, I've given you the the answers here. Now you go do it's like, no, we're they're active and and they're with you.

SPEAKER_01 6:04

The entire time. And you know, a lot of times we'll see people come in with an incident, and you know what happens is they something's wrong. Oh, I gotta pop up, and they'll search on Google to figure out what to do to get out of the situation, and they'll compound it because oh, the first number they called was actually not Microsoft, it's a scammer, and then it's much, much worse. So, like while people do try to self-serve, it is very helpful to have those experts that know exactly how to respond because time is obviously really critical in those situations.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

That speaks to your earlier point, too, about how one small thing can balloon, right? And so it it really is about you know, we talk about vigilance all the time, and like, you know, they prey on the urgency of the moment a lot of times. And so, yeah, it can be that simple, oh, I'm fast Google searching, not really thinking, and I'm clicking on this, you know, first result that pops up or whatever, and then it's legit, it's got the right logo, it's an 800 number.

SPEAKER_01 7:05

Yeah, exactly. They do, they get you in that state of mind, which also adds to the the team how trained they are to deal with that anxiety that people come in, the shame and embarrassment. The first time I was on an incident response call at Black Cloak, I was just blown away by the team's skill and training in dealing with the situation and getting people to understand that this is it's behavioral science. They do this on purpose and they get you into that fugue state of like can't make rational decisions. And when you come out of it, you're so embarrassed. And oh my god, how did I fall for this? And it's like, I know it's a billion-dollar industry, like everyone's falling for it, they do it on purpose. So just having to deal with that, it's really, really mind-blowing, and like it puts a purpose behind everything we do that it's actually individuals and that they're real lives, and it's scary, but I'm glad to be here and doing it.

SPEAKER_00 8:00

So that's why there's an industry for the cyber criminals, and that's why there's an industry for the cybersecurity teams and experts, because it is so um constantly evolving, and you can't possibly expect the average individual or even someone who takes an interest to constantly be up to date on all the latest uh you know scams and techniques. So that's why having an expert team that it's their job to be on top of what the latest stuff is, right?

SPEAKER_01 8:30

It is, it's it's a lot out there. They're very innovative, these criminals, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

For sure. Yeah, and AI is just uh obviously adding a whole new layer uh to all of that. In your discussions with members, um, what has stuck out to you as being their main reason? And maybe we've already kind of touched on it throughout this discussion, but their main reason for choosing Black Lok and wanting that concierge cybersecurity touch?

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Well, you know, the cybersecurity industry for uh corporate society is a huge industry. We're very protected inside those walls, and I just think that it's been a blind spot for so long in personal lives. And a lot of the people that come to us, you know, they want their executives all protected, but they don't want to be involved in their personal lives. It's it's a weird boundary, even for them to cross, and let alone the executives who are like, I don't want you to own my personal life and my uh corporate life. So I think that on our enterprise side of business, that's really the biggest having that protection, but still separation is a huge component to it. Um and then obviously the all of the threats that are out there, people come in with, oh, you know, I did click on this, what do I do? So that remediation, and then they find the continuing value and just being aware. I mean, social engineering continues to be one of the top um areas that people get popped or breached.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

So that, you know, having us there to help them, oh no, I did put my name in something, or I just clicked through this, and what do I do now making help or mediate that I think that's I'm sure that we have, you know, a few of the most common uh incidents that come in through Black Cloak, but overall it's probably a super wide range, right? I mean, we're seeing all types of breaches and all types of attacks.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

Exactly, exactly. I mean, and just out-of-band communications again is a huge one for the enterprise population who doesn't use their phone and text messages and everything and like the corporate environment isn't using that. So, how am I verifying that this isn't a spoofed number that I'm texting and it's actually Dan?

SPEAKER_00 10:42

So that's a great point. Um, before we close, I did want to speak to the personal aspect of this when it comes to that um connection with the Black Low concierge team and the member. Um, that that's a super important part of this, too, right? You talked about you know the professionalism and kind of the calming effect that the concierge team can have, uh, because we're talking about people potentially in the worst spot they've been in in their lives. They're at the very heightened state of uh anxiety and um not knowing. So having somebody that one, they can trust as an expert to deal with it, but also somebody they recognize and somebody who has that ability to calm the situation and walk them through that whole process. What does that mean for the client?

SPEAKER_01 11:36

Yeah, so we are designed in such a way to make it well, you'll see the same person over and over. So, you know, you do build that trust and relationship with that person. You don't feel like you have to explain, oh, you know, I had this incident four months ago with you guys and XYZ. We make sure that everybody on the team, but you can have that consistency, which is that trust piece. Again, we're not just technology running in the background, we're human beings who understand your risk, your personality, your concerns. Um, so it makes a big difference, I think, in that uh calming effect and just trust. And we do see that once people have an interaction with us, whether it be their onboarding session or um, you know, a different security review or something, the minute they have that bond with somebody on the team, then it's just, you know, the floodgates are open and it's everything, like, oh Sam, I had a question about this, and they'll just keep coming back. Yeah, exactly, exactly. So we do see that, you know, you just got to get them comfortable and realize, oh my gosh, there's there's a whole team here that I can ask anything. One of my favorite knowledge base articles is like, why do why to contact black cloak concierge? It's just like, oh, I got a breach letter. Oh, my kid downloaded this game. Is this safe? Like, it's all sorts of different questions that you can ask.

SPEAKER_00 12:57

So yeah, some people just need the permission to ask, right? And then once they get it and once they feel comfortable, they're like, okay, now I now I'm in my zone, I can ask uh all these questions, which is great. Yeah, the the more education and the more uh answers we can provide, obviously the better prepared uh everybody's gonna be in that situation. So, Sam, thank you so much for being here with us today. This is great and uh appreciate all the work you're doing here at Black Cloak and your team. Uh, it obviously uh makes a big impact on the clients. And so uh thanks so much for taking some time out. And it's great to be here in person as well.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

All right, thanks for having me, Dan.

SPEAKER_00 13:30

Of course. You can listen to all episodes of Uncloaked at blackcloak.io slash podcasts or on your platform of choice. And if you're interested in becoming a member or want to learn more about how to protect your digital life, visit us at blackcloak.io. Thank you for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on Uncloaked.