Spear phishing executives is a process problem
Assistants, travel, and public speaking calendars are OSINT. Treat VIP mailboxes like privileged accounts.
ITSIGN Administrator · May 14, 2025 · 2 min read
If the CEO's calendar is public and the assistant can move money, you have a design problem.
VIP mailboxes get phishing-resistant MFA, tighter forwarding controls, and a written stand-in process when someone is travelling.
Train the assistant as carefully as the principal. That is security awareness plus cloud and Microsoft 365.
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