More than 4 in 10 CSOs worldwide have seen increase in threats of violence targeting company's top leaders: report
The world’s top security officers are sounding the alarm: threats against senior executives are escalating amid a backdrop of economic turmoil, political polarization, and digital misinformation.
According to Allied Universal, 42% of chief security officers (CSOs) worldwide have seen an increase in threats of violence targeting their company’s top leaders.
The situation is even more acute in the U.S. tech sector, where two-thirds of security chiefs report a surge in executive threats since the first report in 2023.
Back then, the world was in a period of increased economic and geopolitical volatility following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war entering its second year, says the report.
“Fast forward two years and the world is still grappling with an increasingly polarized global environment, cohesion feels more elusive, trust in authorities continues to erode, and significant economic pressures persist. Politics remains divisive and in unprecedented flux,” say Steve Jones, Global Chairman and CEO, and Ashley Almanza, Executive Chairman, of Allied Universal in the report.
The 2025 World Security Report is based on a survey of 2,352 CSOs across 31 countries and 200 institutional investors.
Executives face rising violence, digital threats
The report highlights that economic instability remains a leading concern, with 44% of CSOs identifying it as the top security risk for the coming year.
Misinformation and disinformation campaigns are cited as a significant factor, with 73% of CSOs reporting their organizations have been targeted by such campaigns in the past year, says the report.
“Social and political polarization can be exacerbated by digital activity where misinformation and disinformation are spread and amplified at breakneck speed. This is now recognized as a serious threat. The sharing of both inaccurate information and deliberate false narratives with malicious intent is increasingly linked to physical security incidents.”
Measures to protect executives have increased dramatically since last year's high-profile killing of UnitedHealthcare boss Brian Thompson, said Jones in speaking to Reuters.
"Since then, the number of executives being protected has doubled," he said. "In the first six months of this year, we performed five times more assessments than in any previous full fiscal year."
Fraud is identified as the most anticipated external threat by 30% of security chiefs, up from 25% in 2023.
Focus on executive protection
In response to these mounting threats, organizations are investing heavily in enhanced security protocols for executives.
The most common actions include enhanced protection (49%), risk assessments (45%), and monitoring of online threats (44%).
The report states that 97% of institutional investors believe companies should provide physical protection for senior leaders. More than two-thirds of investors say leadership accounts for at least 30% of a company’s value.
Security incidents have financial consequences: 26% of companies experienced revenue loss after a security incident in 2024, and investors estimate that a major incident could reduce a public company’s value by 32%.
Internal security threats
Aside from external threats, there are also very serious internal ones. Leaking sensitive information is the most anticipated internal threat for the coming year, 32% of security chiefs say, followed by unauthorized access to company resources or data at 28%.
As to what drives these intentional insider threats, theme emerges. Two of the top three factors are financial stress or personal debt and financial dissatisfaction at 37% and 36%, respectively, finds Allied Universal.
The financial ramifications of security incidents can be significant, says the report:
“Following an internal or external breach, 26% of CSOs reported revenue losses, and companies on average lost at least $9 million in revenue.”
