Nisos Research Finds Corporate Executives' Digital Footprints Leave Them More Exposed to Threats Than Ever Before

98% Have Property Publicly Linked to Their Name; 20% Reveal Sensitive Information Via Social Media; and More Than Half Have Compromised Social Security Numbers

ARLINGTON, Va., June 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Nisos, the human risk management company, today released a new research report taking a deeper look at the increasing amount of physical and digital threats to company executives. The report, entitled "Executive Digital Exposure Trends: Understand and Reduce Your Risk," examines how easy it is to access sensitive personal information about executives and their families online - and how this information can be used to cause harm in the real world.

Nisos' researchers identified three key areas of interconnected personal information vulnerabilities for executives: physical, digital, and social media. Put together, these vulnerabilities highlight just how accessible the personal information is of key company executives and their families - and the danger that this information could pose to their collective safety.

Key findings of the research include:

• 98% had a property linked to their name in public records or people search sites, with 92% of those having viewable exterior images.
• 100% had breach data linking their name to at least one past or current email address.
• More than half (58%) had their social security numbers compromised in breach data.
• Executives had an average of more than three public mainstream social media accounts, and 20% revealed sensitive information.
• 30% of executives' family members publicly shared geolocation and pattern-of-life information.

Executives are facing an increasing amount of targeted digital and physical threats, including Personally Identifiable Information (PII) exploitation for fraud, attacks, and harassment. Far too often, executives' personal data is readily accessible through leaks, social media, or common online activity. Nisos monitors the surface, deep, and dark web for emerging threats and exposed information related to key personnel and their families. This surveillance helps identify threats early and manage digital exposure, ensuring leadership's safety and security.

"Threats to corporate executives and their families have been steadily on the rise - and to properly protect them, it is critical for organizations to understand both physical and digital vulnerabilities, including where their personal information is exposed," said Ryan LaSalle, CEO of Nisos. "That means looking beyond typical dark web or data breach sources and examining what seemingly innocuous information could be used by threat actors in an attack, and taking steps to reduce executive digital risk."

Physical Vulnerabilities

Threat actors can often identify executives' addresses and property layouts from publicly available information. Permits, tax documents, parcel registration, business registration, and popular realtor sites often include accessible address information.

• 98% of executives had a property linked to their name in public records or people search sites. 92% of executives had publicly viewable exterior images of their property, while 88% had interior photos or floorplans visible on realtor sites or mapping tools. These could give a threat actor understanding of a property's location and layout.
• In addition, 82% of executives had their address available in public business registration, voter roll data, or political/philanthropic donation information. Registration and donation information are considered public record and not easily removable.
• Another often overlooked vulnerability is the use of personal devices and applications such as fitness trackers. These applications can give away real-time location information for an executive and/or their family members.
• Geotagging and live posts can provide threat actors with enough information to target an executive, intercept their next destination, or identify when their home is unoccupied or their children unattended. 30% of executives and their family members readily shared geolocation and pattern-of-life information.
• Public fitness tracking applications can display frequented exercise routes, home addresses, and predictable workout routines.

Digital Vulnerabilities

Data breaches are increasingly common, and each one lowers the bar for acquiring an executive's sensitive biographical, financial, or contact information.

• 100% of executives had breach data linking their name to at least one past or current email address. Each executive had an average of more than 3 email addresses and 2 telephone numbers exposed.
• 90% of executives had at least one plaintext password exposed in breach data.
• 70% of executives had immediate family members' personal or contact information exposed in breach data as well, instantly creating additional possible targets for threat actors.
• More than half of executives (58%) had their social security numbers (SSN) compromised in breach data, with 72% of those found for sale on the dark web. 22% of their spouse's SSNs were also compromised.

Social Media Vulnerabilities

Public social media profiles provide nefarious actors access to a target's personal life. Available information can support impersonation, financial fraud, physical confrontations - or even provide threat actors with answers to common security questions for sensitive accounts. Most executives are often unaware of exactly how much information about their lives and the lives of their families is present on social media.

• Executives had an average of 3+ public mainstream social media accounts, and 20% revealed sensitive information via these channels.
• Information disclosed on social media regularly included family pictures; friends lists; home exterior and interior photos; birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations; children's schools, hobbies, and extracurricular activities; announcements of conferences they would attend; vacation plans, and even interactions with antagonistic actors or political posts that some could deem controversial.
• In addition, immediate family members had an average of 6 accounts that revealed personal and family information, expanding the attack surface of each executive.
• 18% of executives were the target of imposter accounts on social media; i.e., social engineering, scams and fraud.

To develop this research, Nisos analyzed vulnerabilities associated with physical location, social media use, and digital exposures in executive vulnerability assessments performed over the past year. The report highlights common vulnerabilities a threat actor can use to target an executive's family, property, or accounts. For a copy of the full research report, please click here.

About Nisos

Nisos is the human risk management company specializing in unmasking threats before they escalate. The company is a trusted advisor, operating as an extension of security, intelligence, legal, and human resource teams to protect their people and business. Nisos' intelligence-led solutions help enterprises make critical decisions, manage human risk, and drive real world consequences for digital threats. For more information, please visit: https://www.nisos.com.

Media Contact:

Jeff Drew

Guyer Group for Nisos

P: 617.233.5109

E: nisos@guyergroup.com

 

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SOURCE Nisos