Personal Cybersecurity for Executives and Families
When the company is hard to break into, attackers go after the person. We close the personal gaps quietly.
Reviewed by the ITRS security team · Last updated
Overview
Executives and wealthy families are targeted through personal email, phone numbers and home networks, which rarely have the protection their office has. We lock down personal accounts, defend against SIM-swap and account takeover, reduce what is exposed about the family online, and help straight away when something looks wrong.
What we look after
Account takeover
Personal email, Apple and Google accounts, banking and social media moved to stronger sign-in.
SIM-swap defence
Carrier account protection added and account recovery moved off text-message codes.
Exposure review
Home address, phone numbers and family details found online, with removal requests filed.
Home network
Router, Wi-Fi and connected devices at home secured and kept apart from guests.
How a personal account takeover usually happens
A common pattern starts with information that is already public: an email address from an old data breach, a phone number from a people-search site, a home address from a property record. An attacker uses those to reset a password, or talks a mobile carrier into moving the phone number to a SIM they control and then receives the sign-in codes meant for the owner. From one email account they can reach cloud photos, documents, banking alerts and the family's contacts.
The fixes are specific. Account recovery moves from text messages to passkeys, security keys or an authenticator app. The carrier account gets the extra protection the carrier offers. Old accounts are closed, and family details are removed from the data brokers that will take them down. We also agree a short emergency routine, so everyone knows who to call and what to leave alone.
Where we start with a household
The first pass focuses on the accounts an attacker would use to reach everything else.
- Primary personal email accounts, since they are the reset route for almost everything else.
- Apple ID or Google account recovery details, trusted devices and signed-in sessions.
- Mobile carrier accounts for every family member, with the carrier's extra account protection added.
- Banking, brokerage and payment apps, including which phone numbers receive alerts and codes.
- Social media accounts that could be used to impersonate a family member.
- The home router and Wi-Fi, including admin passwords and any remote access left on by an installer.
How a private client engagement starts
Every private client engagement follows the same four stages, whatever the size of the household.
Confidential call
People, properties and concerns discussed in confidence before anything is written down.
Inventory
Every account, device, network and property system listed with its owner.
Secure
Sign-in, recovery, networks and devices fixed in order of risk.
Look after
Updates, monitoring and a direct line, with records kept current as the household changes.
Frequently asked questions
An attacker convinces your mobile carrier to move your number to a SIM they control, then receives your text-message codes. Ask your carrier about the extra protection it offers, such as an account PIN or a port-out restriction, and move important accounts to an authenticator app, passkey or security key so a stolen number is not enough.
Some of it. Many people-search and data broker sites delete records on request, and we file and track those requests. News articles, court records and property registries usually stay public, so we focus on reducing what is easy to find and making accounts harder to abuse.
No. Spouses, children, parents and close staff are common routes in, because their accounts are linked to the principal's. We cover the household and agree with you who is included.
Call us before changing anything else. We secure the account from a clean device, sign out other sessions, check recovery details and forwarding, and look at what else was linked to it. If money or extortion is involved, we help you report it to your bank and the police.
Related private client services
Private client work usually spans more than one of these areas. Each page below covers a part of the same service.
Related work.
- Case studyFrom Breach Forensics to a Company-Wide Identity PlanFrom reconstructing a 2018 mailbox compromise minute by minute to scoping centralized Entra ID and Intune management for a 40 to 50 person pharma firm.
- Case studyCleaning Up a Microsoft 365 Tenant for a Fire Protection & Security CompanyHow IT Rapid Support audited every Microsoft 365 group for a GTA fire protection company, fixed mail routing, and cut an 82,456-item mailbox by 62%.
Related.
- ServicePrivate IT and Cybersecurity for Families and Family OfficesPrivate IT and cybersecurity for principals, their families, their homes and the family office, from our offices in Vaughan, Toronto and Vancouver.
- ServiceFamily Device Management and PrivacyEvery phone, tablet and laptop in the household set up properly, kept current and handed back cleanly.
- ServiceFamily Office IT and CybersecurityA family office runs like a small firm with a large target on it. We run its IT the way a careful firm would.
- ServicePrivate Aviation Technology and Travel SecurityYour aircraft operator looks after the aircraft. We look after the laptops, phones, connections and data that travel on it.
- ServicePrivate Client Incident ResponseWhen a family member's account is taken over, a phone number is stolen or someone is being threatened online, the household needs calm, private help.
Under attack right now?
Call before you reset passwords, wipe a laptop or pay anyone. A responder will help you contain the incident without destroying the evidence you will need later.