In the wake of tragedy, security leaders must walk a delicate tightrope between demonstrating genuine public responsibility and avoiding even a hint of exploiting the moment — or, as it’s often referred to in legal circles, “ambulance chasing.” 

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the attack and murder of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson, it becomes even more important to speak up for public good, even if doing so risks raising eyebrows. This tragedy, like others over the past year, is an alarming reminder that personal risk is real, rapidly evolving, and often far closer to home than many organizations recognize.

Looking back at the attack a year later, the immediate impact was stark: it heightened awareness across the industry about the very real dangers executives and their families face. It fueled human emotion in a way that corporate attacks seldom do, highlighting the effect on real people and real lives. The incident reminded security leaders that risk is no longer confined to high-profile public events; it follows executives and their families into their daily routines, travel, and personal digital footprints.

The silver lining, if there could be one, is that the assassination brought executive security risks into sharp focus, showing how even well-resourced organizations can underestimate evolving threats. It highlighted the urgency for proactive measures, the integration of corporate and personal security strategies, and ongoing holistic vigilance — all hallmarks of a relatively new segment of cybersecurity, called Digital Executive Protection (DEP).

At the same time, it made the tightrope of speaking on the tragedy easier for security experts to balance and helped draw attention to vulnerabilities while advocating for stronger safeguards — all without appearing to assign blame or leveraging the tragedy for institutional gain.

In response, enterprises are increasing their focus around executive protection outside corporate firewalls and taking steps to remove Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from data broker sites and the Dark Web. 

Others are taking executive security even further by adopting DEP services that integrate best practices in both digital and physical security. DEP brings to life the famous phrase, “only the paranoid survive,” coined by former Intel CEO Andrew Grove by assuming the worst case scenario. Even after removing PII from data brokers, DEP operates with the acknowledgement that criminals already have sufficient information to plan, target, and profit from the vast amount of data spilled on the Dark Web and in the National Public Data (a data broker) data breach. 

This approach goes beyond basic data removal—essential, but no longer sufficient—to provide continuous, proactive monitoring and threat mitigation that protects executives and their families while respecting personal privacy boundaries. By combining real-time intelligence, travel assessments, executive risk assessments, cybersecurity protection, and 24/7 support, DEP helps prevent incidents before they occur, ensures rapid response when necessary, and delivers a seamless layer of protection that corporate teams alone cannot provide.

Organizations embracing DEP are recognizing that protecting leadership requires a supplemental team alongside their internal Security Operations Center (SOC). They are partnering with professionals who provide around-the-clock monitoring and support from advanced teams that are entirely based in the U.S., and who have possessed for year the stringent controls required by the SSAE16 (SOC 2), ensuring that sensitive data is managed according to rigorous security and privacy standards. This team can operate beyond the elusive privacy boundaries that corporate teams cannot cross into the personal lives of executives and their families.

Moments like these underscore the broader responsibility of the security industry. Its role extends beyond crisis response — translating incidents into practical lessons that strengthen protection for everyone at risk. We can no longer avoid speaking up, even if doing so invites scrutiny for “ambulance chasing” or appears self-motivated. Hard lessons need to be taken seriously for better preparedness and prevention.  Executives and their family members are increasingly at risk. These lessons are clear: threats are evolving, holistic security is essential, and proactive collaboration between cyber and physical teams are critical.  DEP brings this all together with real-time protection services.  Digital Executive Protection is no longer optional; it is a necessity.