Executive protection (EP), also known as close protection, refers to security and risk mitigation measures taken to ensure the safety of VIPs or other individuals who may be exposed to elevated personal risk because of their employment, high-profile status, net worth, affiliations or geographical location. There are varying types of executive protection. They can generally be divided into the following categories:

• High-threat protection for dignitaries traveling internationally

• Corporate executive protection for high net-worth corporate officers

• Celebrity close protection

The defining characteristics among these categories are first, the amount of resources available for the task, and second the types of environments that they operate in on a routine basis.