The ever-growing prevalence of social media, and the lack of concrete laws governing Internet speech, in certain jurisdictions, have made reputational risk a valid threat for many. But if you are high net worth or high profile, you may often face a unique set of challenges including being the subject of potential press articles, blog posts, and social media threads.
The reality is that, in today’s world, no one is immune to becoming the target of inappropriate, invasive and unwanted commentary but those with wealth or a public facing persona are particularly attractive targets for trolls, business competitors and even organised criminals who may look to target them.
The pitfalls of the online “invisibility cloak”
Many high-net-worth individuals deliberately aim to keep a low profile on the Internet, but that in itself can be a risk.
When you do not have control of your own online narrative by having high-ranking entries and profiles on Google that can, oftentimes, leave you with no “digital defence.” In other words, theoretically, there is nothing thwarting unapproved, third-party content from reaching the top of Google and remaining there.
Google’s goal is to publish the most accurate, the most informative, and the most useful information on the Internet. To achieve that, online “bots” scour the Internet to pull up every piece of relevant information every time someone conducts a search. If you do not intentionally place content online about you—even basic entries like a LinkedIn profile, which nearly always shows up on the first page of a Google search—you have no control over what Google and other search engines unearth about you. Whether positive, negative, or neutral, your results are often a mélange of media articles, business profiles, and an array of material published by third parties.
It is challenging to create a “digital defence” when you would much prefer to have nothing about you online. But when you do have that protection in place, you are less vulnerable to the likelihood that any third-party content will define your reputation.
Examples of online reputational damage
When damaging information appears about you online, it can take many forms. Examples include:
- Websites registered in your name (which anyone can purchase) that are used to publish “fake news”
- Accusatory or subjective blog posts, Facebook posts, and tweets with malicious intent to damage you, your reputation or your business
- Images of your home and address posted on Internet forums
- When such information dominates the first page or two of a Google search about you, it can detract from your professional image, affect your business dealings, and even impact your personal life.
Such material can come from surprising sources. For example, there are approximately 20 or more “people search” databases that collect and republish personal data about us from data brokers. The data—our ages, family members’ names, addresses, our phone numbers—is scraped from driver’s license associations, courts, real estate ownership records, and dozens of other sources. When criminals search for the address of your home, for instance, they can readily find it on such data or aggregator sites, along with satellite pictures, maps with directions, and property value.
Is your online reputation safe?
Helping clients identify and mitigate (or remove, if possible) online information about them and their families involves carrying out customised analyses and reputation risk reports.
This process helps clients identify their reputational and privacy vulnerabilities in the digital space and feature:
- An analysis of content available online about them or their organization including the identification of potential red flags and steps to proactively mitigate risks or correct areas in need of repair.
- An assessment of the tone of the content and the credibility of content sources that are affecting the company’s brand.
- An evaluation of the availability of personal information, like home address and phone number, and if that availability places the client’s personal security at risk.
Our OSINT intelligence reports provide data-based analysis to inform decisions, including whether to act on our recommendations and mitigate the potential risks we identify. In addition to these reports, we provide clients with insights into their online profiles and social media activities, as well as that of their children or other family members.
