It’s A Scary World Out There—Don’t Leave Clues For Those Seeking To Do Harm

By Adam Jackson, Forbes Councils Member for Forbes Technology Council Adam Jackson is the co-founder and CEO of 360 Privacy.

Being a visible senior leader of your company can be immensely gratifying. However, in a climate where sociopolitical unrest mixes with social media and big data, it also makes you a target—sometimes an easy one.

As we’ve seen from multiple violent attacks on CEOs, online harassment can quickly spill out into the physical world. But even when it doesn’t, corporate leaders have become prime targets for cyberstalking, identity fraud and misinformation campaigns.

In one 2024 survey, 72% of U.S. cybersecurity professionals said their company’s senior executives had been targeted by cyberattacks in the past 18 months. More than half had experienced an identity fraud incident affecting a senior executive. Among those previously attacked, 69% said that attacks targeting executives were increasing.