The Art of Covert Protection

What is Covert Protection?

Covert Protection is the most misunderstood style of protection used today. This is due to false notions by some, a lack of desire to change from the protection styles of the past. Covert means that nobody is supposed to know that there’s a protective operative around. It’s not a question of hiding or camouflaging but of blending in and making it appear like the operator is not engaged in a protection or intelligence operation. In the government sector, there are those who make the distinction between the terms covert and clandestine. A clandestine operation, according to the US Department of Defense, differs from a covert operation in that emphasis is placed on concealment “of the operation” rather than concealment “of the identity” of the sponsor. In the private sector, this is mostly viewed as a distinction without much of a difference. Covert Protection, (CovPro™) in a nutshell is the art of protecting the principle without anyone else knowing they are being protected. One key distinction that separates CovPro™ from other styles of EP is that the principal should never meet the CovPro™ operators. CovPro™ operators operate in the principal’s bubble (the area secured by CovPro™ around the principal) but do not drive, walk with or engage with the principal unless an emergency situation occurs. Should an emergency occur, the principal and CovPro™ operators will communicate in a pre-determined manner (not described in detail here for operational security purposes) so the principal has 100% conformation that a risk is being mitigated by the CovPro™ team. 

 CovPro™ often includes multiple bubbles of protection and requires experienced EP practitioners with extensive training in this specific style of protection. CovPro™ Bubbles differ from the traditional rings of security because the CovPro™ Bubble can expand, and contract as needed and requires constant calibration by CovPro™ practitioners. The size of the CovPro™ Bubble is less important than maintaining the ability to secure the CovPro™ Bubble around the principal. This continuous changing of the distance between the principal requires constant assessments and can be a challenging concept for experienced security practitioners who are accustomed to the more traditional concentric circles of security that have traditionally been used in the protection industry.  

Many mistakenly describe CovPro™ as “LowPro” or plain clothed EP, others describe CovPro™ as SD, CS or Protective Surveillance or just surveillance. This further illustrates that CovPro™ is the most misunderstood style of EP since each of these are equally inaccurate, are quite often used by experienced protectors and equally propel a false narrative due to ignorance.

CovPro™ operators use a combination of hard and soft skills such as EP, Emergency Medical Technician, Protective Driving, Firearms Skills, Hostile Vulnerability Assessments, Behavioral Detection, Technology Integration, Surveillance Detection, Counter Surveillance and Emergency Response Capabilities. Each of these skills must be developed, honed and deployed in the appropriate doses for a CovPro™ team to be a viable option for risk mitigation. Since 2012, six different CovPro™ teams have started and failed due to various reasons but each were plagued with predictable obstacles that experienced CovPro™ managers and directors understand to be incompatible with sustainable CovPro™ operations. 

This is a fairly new style of EP since the first (full time, private sector) Covert Protection team was established in 2012. This team continues to be in operation at the time of this writing and currently sets the standard for excellence in CovPro™ operations. This groundbreaking team of professionals consists of 2 teams: Covert Protection and Surveillance Detection Teams. These teams operate in coordinated independence and provide augmentation for the EP team. This specific team is comprised of former SEALS, GRS, SWAT and highly talented Executive Protection practitioners who have demonstrated their ability to change their protection mindset and have each met the rigors of the CovPro™ selection process. Each member of this team was selected for their individual contributions to the team but also for their ability to protect the principal without looking like, acting like or behaving like traditional security.

Many other CovPro™ teams have been developed since the creation of this team and deploy similar variations of this original CovPro™ style of protection, but each have unique variations to accommodate the specific needs of their principals. This is far more challenging than is obvious to the casual observer since most EP practitioners spend many years to become an overt deterrence that is intentionally obvious to anyone with nefarious intent.

Due to the extensive training and demanding operational environment and team size requirements, CovPro™ is (in many cases) a more expensive protective option than traditional EP. However, this unique style of protection facilitates the protection of at-risk individuals without impeding their lifestyle. This distinction is important to someone who cares little about spending money and is extremely careful who they let into their inner circle. This is one reason that this style of protection is attractive to many principals once they realize CovPro can protect them from the risks they face while allowing them to live their lives unencumbered by fear and unrestricted by the more traditional but obvious presence of overt protectors. 

CovPro™ was originally created to augment the work of traditional EP practitioners but since its increased use by private sector security teams, has also served as a means of protection without overt EP.

CovPro without overt EP should be deployed in situations where: A) The principal is not facing an Extreme level of risk. B) The principal understands that CovPro™ offers a protective bubble but in some cases, the response time to mitigate a physical attack can be different than traditional EP. This is due to the reality that CovPro Operators are in some cases farther away from the principal than traditional EP Agents. These are key principles of CovPro™ that should not be overlooked but it should also be understood that these are challenges that CovPro™ tradecraft has continued to be enhanced and improved making it one of the most forward thinking styles of human protection.