"Stop Exposing Online Movement"…US Insurance CEO Shooting Raises Business Sector Anxiety

by Koo Nari

Published 08 Dec.2024 19:35(KST)

Insurance Companies Remove Photos of Top Executives and Others

In the middle of the streets of New York, USA, the CEO of an insurance company was shot and killed, prompting other business executives to erase their personal information and movement records online out of concern for their safety.

A wanted poster of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealth Group, suspected of a shooting, is posted. Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News.

On the 6th (local time), The Washington Post (WP) pointed out that in the wake of the Brian Thompson UnitedHealth Group CEO incident on the 4th, it has become an era where the movements of key figures are exposed online.

Earlier, Thompson was shot and killed by a man wearing a black mask near the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, New York, in the early morning. Thompson was reportedly on his way to attend the annual investor event held at the Hilton Hotel that morning. Notably, the motive of the shooter was suspected to be related to the denial of insurance payouts.

Moreover, just hours after Thompson's death, a bomb threat targeting his residence was received. Regarding this incident, recent analyses suggest that the exposure of business executives' residences and flight routes online has increased the level of personal threats. Eric Sean Clay, president of the International Health Insurance Security and Safety Association, told foreign media, "CEOs are often the most visible figures in an organization," adding, "Sometimes people express hatred toward that individual and want to harm them."

As the level of personal threats rises, companies have stepped up security measures. CVS, which owns the health insurance company Aetna, and UnitedHealth have removed photos and biographies of their top executives from their web pages. However, there still appear to be gaps in personal protection. Risk management consulting firm WTW reported that last year, less than a quarter of companies in the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 provided security services to their CEOs personally.

Meanwhile, the New York Police Department (NYPD) is pursuing the suspect who killed Thompson. The NYPD has increased the reward for information on this suspect to $10,000 (approximately 14.24 million KRW). Additionally, the incident has sparked anger among Americans who feel they have been placed in unfair situations due to the complex and difficult-to-understand insurance system.