Tag: UnitedHealthcare
An extra shot of security
February 3, 2026Cory Harris, Editor
Corporate executive protection is being rewritten in real time. When Starbucks disclosed in late January that it is now requiring CEO Brian Niccol to use company aircraft for all travel following a security review that identified “credible” risks, the decision underscored how boards are responding to a more volatile threat landscape.
What might once have been dismissed as an executive perk is now increasingly framed as a duty‑of‑care decision, rooted in threat assessments, exposure...
NYC mass shooting calls for 'smarter, more responsive' approach to security
July 30, 2025Cory Harris, Editor
NEW YORK—The mass shooting in New York City on July 28 that involved a gunman walking into a Park Avenue commercial building with an assault rifle, killing four people and critically wounding another, serves as a stark reminder of the escalating threat posed by armed individuals in public spaces, says Actuate CEO Ken Francis.
Nearly eight months after United HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed walking into a NYC building for an investor conference, Francis points...
Four dead in NYC
July 30, 2025Cory Harris, Editor
For the second time in nearly eight months, a senseless, tragic shooting in NYC has brought the issue of protecting our most important assets – people – into the national spotlight.
Less than 48 hours ago, a gunman casually strolled into a Park Avenue commercial building with an assault rifle, killing four people and critically wounding another.
While the shooter’s motive was apparently outlined in his suicide note, the real question coming out of this mass shooting is how...
Security strategies shift as executive threat landscape evolves
July 14, 2025Ken Showers, Managing Editor
YARMOUTH, Maine — Spending on executive protection services is surging in the United States, driven by a rise in politically motivated violence, most recently in Minnesota.
The shootings in Minnesota in June, which resulted in the deaths of a state representative and her husband, follow the assassination of a UnitedHealthcare CEO in 2024.
In response, companies have significantly increased their investment in executive security. An Equilar study of S&P 500 companies found:
The...
Hanging by a thread
December 11, 2024SSN Staff
To paraphrase a popular children’s cartoon of the past few decades, “If I had a nickel for every time I discussed an assassination on this blog, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.”
Last week, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, was gunned down by an assassin on his way to an investor meeting. I could lay out the moral implications at great length in this blog, but that’s not terribly important...
Execs scramble for protection following fatal CEO shooting
December 11, 2024Cory Harris, Editor
NEW YORK—The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a New York City hotel on Dec. 4 has led to a surge of requests for executive protection, says Glen Kucera of Allied Universal.
Kucera, president of the Enhanced Protection Services business unit at Allied, noted that the phones started ringing at the company about 15 minutes after the story broke of the shooting. Since then, Allied has received hundreds of inquiries from existing and new customers.
“This...
Poll respondents assess risk of theft, cyberattacks & more
April 23, 2024Ken Showers, Managing Editor
YARMOUTH, Maine - A majority of respondents to a recent SSN News Poll report that enhanced physical security and surveillance is the best answer to the rising problem of retail theft, while some wonder if that constitutes a sufficient response.
Among this month’s questions we discussed the rising problem of retail theft from organized crime groups and best practices to combat this trend. Most respondents, 60%, feel that enhanced physical security and surveillance is the best answer...
Aired grievances
March 13, 2024Ken Showers, Managing Editor
A dozen lawsuits later and it sounds like Airbnb has finally put the kibosh on indoor security cameras in its policies.
I’m not an aficionado of the rental properties lifestyle but I suppose I assumed that it was, at the very least, frowned upon beforehand to install security cameras indoors at places like this. Obviously, bathrooms and bedrooms were already a no-go but having a bunch of Norman Bates’ peeping on tenants while having a somewhat ambiguous policy on indoor surveillance...
Thrillogy
March 6, 2024Ken Showers, Managing Editor
The return of dreaded continuity. I swear that three is our lucky number and this will be the last time I discuss ransomware in this space, at least for a little while.
BlackCat/ALPHV is apparently falling apart this week if you’ve been following that story closely. The official word is that they stole the $22 million payment from UnitedHealthcare and collectively ghosted the world. Which, you know, that money is kind of already stolen? I mean, that’s what blackmail basically is, guys....
United they fall
February 28, 2024Ken Showers, Managing Editor
Oh man, I really don’t like doing the same topic two weeks in a row, but we have to talk about ransomware again.
It should be about the ADT webcast, but we’ll save that one for next week, as a treat. Instead, today we’re going to take our medicine and I get to say I told you so while discussing the ransomware attack on UnitedHealthcare by BlackCat. You’ll remember BlackCat (ALPHV) because we’ve covered it before, but also because in this very blog spot last week I...