Following Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcareAfter the shooting in New York on Wednesday morning, some companies took extra precautionary measures to protect their executives, while corporate security companies report a surge in interest in their services.
The shooting of Thompson, who did not appear to have a security guard with him when he was attacked outside a Manhattan hotel, highlights the protection of high-profile business executives, whose security costs can run high millions of dollars a year.
According to security experts, it is common for top executives of state-owned companies to be protected by guards 24 hours a day. According to them, social media’s amplification of ordinary individuals’ dissatisfaction with a person, product or service has only increased the need for protection. This is especially true in an industry like health insurance, where many Americans say they are dissatisfied with the services they receive.
Indeed, following Thompson’s murder, many people on social media expressed vitriol for the practices of certain health insurers.
“We’ve gotten to a point where health care is so inaccessible and unaffordable that people are justified in their frustrations,” Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and senior public health editor, told CBS. KFF Health News. Mornings where the public expresses its frustrations.
To be sure, some of America’s largest companies, particularly those in the technology sector, were spending heavily on the personal and residential security of their top executives before Thompson’s assassination. Meta, whose businesses include Facebook and Instagram, reported the highest spending on personal security for top executives last year, at more than $24 million, according to documents collected by research firm Equilar .
Although Thompson had an in-house security guard during his visit to New York, he was not with him at the time of the shooting, according to CNN, which cited a source close to UnitedHealthcare security.
In the wake of the attack, enterprise security experts said businesses should take the time to evaluate their security protocols and strengthen protective measures, if necessary, to protect against various threats.
“My phone is ringing off the hook, with calls especially from healthcare executives who are reevaluating their security,” said Paul Sarnese, a safety and security consultant and former president of the International Association for Safety and Security. Health Care Safety (IAHSS).
He said the deadly incident would likely prompt more leaders to seek stronger protection. “This incident will certainly change the minds of leaders who may have been reluctant to put security protocols in place. I think they will be more receptive to protecting leaders,” he said.
Too much information
Following Thompson’s death, some companies took steps to limit publicly available information about their executives. For example, a page on UnitedHealthcare’s website about company leadership — which included biographies of Thompson and other executives — no longer exists and redirects to the company’s home page.
Medica, a nonprofit health care company based in Minnesota, and other insurers have taken similar steps, their websites show.
Medica told The Associated Press on Friday that it was temporarily closing its six offices for security reasons, in addition to removing executive biographies from its website.
“While we have not received any specific threats to our campuses, our office buildings will be temporarily closed out of an abundance of caution,” the company said in a statement.
Experts say these types of measures are wise.
“I think we share too much. I don’t need to know where you live and that you’re married and have three wonderful children,” Sarnese said. “We don’t need to announce to the public where the CEO is.”
While leaders across all industries should evaluate their safety measures, healthcare professionals have received more threats in recent years due to divisions emerging around safety protocols, including mask mandates, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sarnese said.
“Every industry faces challenges because there will always be someone who is unhappy with a service, product or philosophy. But COVID changed everything. “We have never seen the level of threats that we saw during COVID against health care workers and leaders, due to some of the mistrust and misinformation that was prevalent in the community,” he said. -he declared.
“All the Ways Things Can Go Wrong”
K2 Integrity security industry veteran Brittney Blair said monitoring online threats is as essential as physical protection.
More and more companies are becoming more active in tracking cyber threats, including monitoring the web and the dark web.
“I think people want to take a more proactive approach to make sure that they’re not in a situation where they’re not caught off guard or unprepared for this bad thing,” she said. told CBS MoneyWatch. “You can’t predict crime, and you can’t prevent everything, but you should do everything you can to make sure you anticipate any possible threat that might come your way.”
contributed to this report.
