David Dezso, CEO & Founder of Banyan Risk Group and ROWAN Security discusses data leakage and executive protection.
The concept of privacy has transformed from a personal right into a pervasive vulnerability at a time where practically everybody carries a smartphone that emits a continuous stream of data, such as location pings, app behaviours, ad tracking signals and social footprints.
This is particularly alarming for high-net-worth individuals and those prominently in the public eye, whose visibility in both digital and physical worlds makes them attractive targets for sophisticated threat actors.
The risks to these individuals and their families can extend far beyond financial loss – dangerous digital exposures can, and will, translate into real-world harm.
According to recent research, executives and ultra-wealthy individuals face unprecedented digital exposure: nearly all executives have digitally traceable footprints that could reveal personal addresses and routine movements and a substantial portion of family members share location and pattern-of-life data publicly.
David Dezso, CEO of Banyan Risk Group and ROWAN Security stated: “Today’s threat actors are becoming more sophisticated, leveraging technology, data breaches and social engineering to lure victims into their covert attack cycles.
“Knowing your vulnerabilities is half the battle but mitigating them continuously is the next half.”.
Mobile technology, always-on connectivity and third-party data ecosystems have pervaded everyday life, meaning that almost every interaction we have both online and in person generates exploitable information.
Industry analysis has found that mobile apps collect user data, including location, contact details and browsing activities and many share this data with outside entities such as advertisers or analytics firms.
The serious implications of this constant leakage of data are not an exaggeration – it creates detailed profiles of individual’s movements, habits and preferences, leaving them critically vulnerable.
For ordinary consumers, these exposures raise concerns about personalised ads and the potential for lower level crime.
For high-profile individuals, however, they open windows for threat actors to anticipate whereabouts, discover family routines and plan targeted attacks.
The issue is compounded by the data broker ecosystem, which aggregates personal, financial and behavioural information from countless sources.
These brokers compile extensive dossiers on individuals, often without consent and make them accessible to third parties.
The consequences can be severe: Detailed personal data has been used not only for fraud and identity theft but also as leverage in blackmail, stalking and physical threats.
But how exactly does this data leakage create tangible consequences for high-net-worth individuals?
“There are no physical risks without digital risks”
In the age of social media, the consequences of oversharing, whether by an individual or their family, can inadvertently broadcast sensitive information, including often visited locations, vacations and unoccupied residences, which invites burglary and targeted harassment, while location tracking data can amplify the traceability of principals.
Data brokerages and people-search websites hold data on individuals – such as home addresses – which create ready-made profiles for malicious actors.
In a recent study on executive exposure, nearly all executives had at least one email address linked to breach data, and many had sensitive personal information exposed in past breaches.
Family connections can also increase this risk, as relatives sometimes publicly share geolocation and lifestyle information.
As personal information is leaked, threat actors are able to gather that information to craft highly persuasive scams using deepfake technologies that can impersonate trusted contacts, service providers and banks.
In 2025, deepfake attacks increased, with executives being targeted more frequently.
“There are no physical risks without digital risks, and vice versa. The world is more dynamic and interconnected than ever before,” added Dezso.
These statistics show clear and concerning evidence of how common data leakage is amongst high-net-worth individuals, and at a time where AI is increasing in power and capabilities, these leaks are now presenting a clear threat to personal safety.
An integrated approach to executive protection
Digital penetrations often foreshadow physical threats.
Threat actors can successfully derive home locations from a myriad of online sources including public records, flight tracker apps and social media posts, which provide them with enough information to successfully time stalking, home invasions or kidnapping attempts.
In 2025, we saw a surge in ideologically motivated digital doxxing, which further illustrates how quickly private data can be weaponised to generate threat lists and harassment campaigns.
The implications are stark: Digital risk is not isolated to cyber-attacks, but intersects directly with physical security, reputation and family welfare.
To truly safeguard principals effectively in 2026 and beyond, an integrated approach to executive protection must be adopted that expands beyond purely traditional physical protection measures into a combined digital-physical paradigm.
This integrated approach should combine three core pillars of protective strategy: Digital security, human intelligence and analysis and on-the-ground security.
By shielding the digital footprint of a principal through mobile security hardening, data suppression and opt-out services – and deploying advanced threat detection technologies – we can minimise the opportunity for threat actors to gain access to crucial information that could put the principal or their family at risk.
Tech alone, however, is insufficient.
Human analysis is a crucial component of an effective executive protection strategy, with experienced intelligence professionals strengthening the interpretation of threat signals through the consistent evaluation of OSINT materials, behavioural pattern analysis and the regular production of threat assessments.
Combined with an on-the-ground protective solution, this helps to mitigate vulnerabilities the principal may be displaying to potential threat actors.
“Integrating risk disciplines is critical to building resilience in your protective operations,” concludes Dezso.
“The digital, human and physical elements are in a constant push and pull depending on where your operating environment begins and ends. Without weaving the three together, you would create a major gap in protective coverage.”
Digital privacy is no longer optional
Today’s high-net-worth individuals operate in a world where their digital shadows are extensions of their real-world presence.
In this environment, digital privacy is no longer optional – it is fundamental to safety.
To remain secure, high-net-worth individuals and their security teams must prioritise visibility reduction, continuous threat intelligence and an integrated physical-digital protection posture that transcends traditional security silos – recognising that a compromised digital profile can be the first step toward far more dangerous outcomes.
