REPUTATION:
YOUR MOST PRECIOUS ASSET
1. SUMMARY: ONLINE REPUTATION
MANAGEMENT AND THE IMPACT
ON HIGH-PROFILE INDIVIDUALS.
65%
of internet users see online search as
the most trusted source of information
about individuals and companies
As a high-profile individual, your status means that others are
interested in you. A positive reputation can establish credibility
and trust with shareholders, the media and customers.
A high-profile individual’s good name needs protection
just like any other asset. Yet in today’s instant information
digital world, it’s more vulnerable than ever and poses
a problem many aren’t equipped to deal with. It’s not
only their business that can be faced with reputational
damage, but their all-important name too. Reputation has
always been a cornerstone for high profile individuals.
In the past this was largely reliant on word-of-mouth
and one’s network. However, in today’s digital age these
factors have been replaced by mainstream media, blogs,
social media, regulatory announcements, and many other
uncontrollable content vehicles that are available online.
A reputation attack now has an instant global audience
and can decimate a previously respected name and
reputation overnight. While we have all been taught not to
believe everything that we read, it would be foolhardy to
underestimate the role of the internet on public perception.
Many high-profile individuals have devoted time and
resources to developing their brands online, investing
millions into advertisements, sponsorships and promoting
their profile globally. However, all too often such individuals
neglect to apply the same resources to safeguarding
their online reputation and privacy, which leaves them
vulnerable and ill prepared to deal with a crisis.

2. REPUTATIONAL RISKS:
THREATS AND VULNERABILITIES
The digital world presents a host of new pitfalls
when maintaining the online reputation of a high
net worth individual; it also presents opportunities
for organisations, individuals, journalists and even
criminals to access information about their principle
interests and activities. This information can be used
for a vast variety of unwanted, unlawful or damaging
purposes – this can include anything from exposing
your engagement and relationships with controversial
or sensitive individuals, organisations or businesses,
to extortion, fraud and in some extreme cases even
kidnapping.
Social Media and Viral Negative
Content
Social media is ubiquitous and woven into everyday
life. Used responsibly, it can be a relatively secure
medium to communicate with friends and family. High-
profile individuals must be particularly conscious about
limiting their personal online presence, promoting
selective sharing and careful social media use.
Everyone makes mistakes, but for some, their mistakes
are almost guaranteed to have a greater impact. Social
media usage should be treated with extreme caution;
overexposure and irresponsible use can lead to severe
reputation damage of the high-profile individual in
question.
Online Media and Search Results
Negative or defamatory results on the first page of
Google – for example, unflattering press coverage or
libellous accusations – can cause serious problems for
a high-profile individual’s image. As well as damaging
the relationship with customers and clients, potential
partners and investors doing cursory research may
think twice before associating with a high-profile
individual whose integrity is being called into question.
Exposed Personal Information
Revealing too much can potentially leave you
exposed to several threats. Most high-profile
individuals are aware of the obvious physical
security issues which can emerge as a consequence
of exposed personal information. However, many
are less likely to make the connection between
exposed personal information and security.
Phishing and spear-phishing attacks are emails
which appear to be from businesses that you know,
attempting to gain access to confidential data.
The more personal information that is available
to the hacker, the more tailored (and ultimately
effective) the phishing attempt can be. High-profile
individuals are particularly vulnerable as they
have access to the widest set of information and
are most visible to the outside world for targeted
attacks.
Connections and Network
As recent headlines have made clear, your online
profile is only as secure as the people you’re
connected to via social media. There isn’t much a
high-profile individual can do to stop their online
connections inadvertently giving away personal
details; and, despite negative media attention,
sensitive information contained within online
datasets that users haven’t opted into are still likely
to be available. At ReputationDefender, we can offer
advice on how to significantly reduce the level of
risk to your exploitable, personal information.
Your Family
Family members are, without question, one of the best
routes for malicious individuals to access personal
information. It only takes one weak link in the chain
– perhaps a younger member of the family who is less
tech savvy and aware – to circumvent a high-profile
individual’s continued efforts when it comes to online
privacy. Compounding the issue, it is now easier than
ever before for the family members of high-profile
people to be identified and subsequently targeted.
These family members often have less protection in
place and may not realise the value of the data and
information they share online, knowingly or otherwise.
Such valuable information can be used to create a
detailed profile of the targeted individual, such as where
and when they go on holiday, their leisure activities and
behaviours, and who they socialise and relax with. At
ReputationDefender, we use penetration testing to offer
strategic advice and stop the flow of harmful leaks that
may originate from unaware members of the family.
3. IMPACT: REPUTATIONAL
DAMAGE FOR A HIGH-
PROFILE INDIVIDUAL
The level of impact of a damaged reputation
on a high-profile individual can be debated,
scrutinised and questioned. However, it can’t
be denied; it poses a real risk and shouldn’t
be dismissed.

“It takes 20 years to build a

reputation and five minutes to
ruin it. If you think about that,
you’ll do things differently.”

– Warren Buffett

There are multiple consequences of

a reputational crisis for a high-profile
individual:

Loss of Income

45%
An online reputation event can take multiple forms,
whether it’s a poorly worded statement going viral, an
unfortunate association made public, or an unfair and
inaccurate article featuring prominently in the search
results. Whatever the issue is, the damage can have far-
reaching and long-lasting consequences for a high-profile
individual.

of consumers have stated that they
decided not to do business with someone
because of something they found in an
online search
Trust
Trust is more important than ever, especially when
it comes to relationships with clients, , partners,
employees and all stakeholders in your business. Trust
is a strategically critical issue in any type of relationship
because a relationship without trust is not really a
relationship at all. Trust is a virtue and once that trust is
broken it’s almost impossible to repair.
 92%
Damage to Personal Brand
Your personal brand is a hard-won commodity
and in business it is your most valuable asset. A
damaged personal brand can hold you back from
new opportunities, clients, deals and prospects.
Many parties will feel it’s a risk to collaborate,
trade or deal with an individual with a damaged
reputation and they have real concern of “guilty by
association”. With page 1 of Google claiming
92% of search traffic, the chances
Overexposure are that whatever appears on page
Typically, a high-profile individual is the weakest 2 will go unseen.

59.2%
link in cyber-security because they are most visible
to the outside world, making them ideal for targeted
attacks. High-profile individuals often surrender
ostensibly innocuous personal information online,
such as their address, DOB and next of kin. In
the wrong hands this information can be open to
exploitation and used to gain further insights. Such
data in the past has been used to hack high-profile
individuals which has led to severe data breaches
and sensitive content exposure, decimating their
reputation. It also poses a real risk to personal If three negative articles pop up
safety; private and personal data can be stolen with in a search query, the potential for
much more sinister intentions, including home
loss increases to 59.2%
invasions and kidnapping.
4. ANALYSE AND MITIGATE: THE EXPERT’S SOLUTION
Many high-profile individuals feel they have the resources
and knowledge to cover such projects as Reputation
Management and Personal Privacy Solutions, but often
that’s not the case. This misplaced sense of confidence
and security leaves them vulnerable to irreparable damage
both on and offline.
ReputationDefender offers a comprehensive approach
backed up by years of experience. We know how would-be
reputation attackers, bloggers, trolls, journalists, criminals
and opportunists operate, how they access data, and
what they can do with it to harm you and damage your
reputation. We use tried and tested intelligence processes
with market leading technologies to deliver in-depth,
bespoke intelligence reputation and privacy reports.
Our tailored analysis offers a comprehensive
understanding of the privacy and reputation risks you
are facing due to activity and behaviours online. With the
initial analysis completed, we can then advise on the most
effective strategies to mitigate the risks and minimise any
potential reputational damage and privacy vulnerabilities.
• Profile Analysis and Mitigation Guidance:
ReputationDefender will analyse the high-profile
individual’s online footprint. In doing so, we will
highlight current and potential future online security
and reputational risks. We will demonstrate how
current concerns could potentially translate to future
risk and will provide a written report designed to
outline ways you can reduce these risks and services
that have been created to protect against such issues.
• Profile Review and Monitoring: Once analysis has
been carried out and necessary changes have been
made, ReputationDefender will provide an updated
review to re-evaluate the previously perceived risks
as well any new, or re-emerging threats, concerns or
risks.
• Periodic Profile Review and Alerts: Over the
following weeks and months, ReputationDefender we
periodically review and re-analyse the high-profile
individual. Alerts to any emerging threats or concerns
will be provided as well as insight into how best to
manage and mitigate any risk moving forward.
5. SOLUTION: HISTORICAL EVENT
OR POINT OF CRISIS
If a high-profile individual is suffering from historical or
more recent reputation damage, it can be overwhelming
or even seem irremediable. The situation will not mitigate
itself and not acting upon it lends credibility to the event.
The relevance, authority and legitimacy of the event needs
to be challenged strategically and digitally through the
search engines to remedy the situation. Our Defender Elite
Technology is a proprietary technology comprised of many
parts. The technology focuses on what Google sees as
‘important’ when ranking a web asset at the top or bottom
of the search results.
Generally, the two areas Google
prioritises are:
• The credibility/authority a web asset has
given its history/origin (i.e. if the origin
site gets updated, or receives lots of traffic),
as well as how the content on the page
relates to the search being made.
• How users engage with the search results
and the path Google sees each unique
individual follow. Often, web assets that
rank in the top 5 positions on Google do
so because users click those pages first
and spend a generous amount of time (5,
10, 15+ minutes) reading/ digesting the
information. Patterns are then developed
based on volume and read by Google to
indicate whether a web asset should
be promoted or demoted in the search
rankings.
 01
Identify
Identification of welcome and unwelcome
content appearing in the search results
under consideration, incorporating any
client feedback or suggestions. Secondary
identification of priorities for promotion and
demotion, based on client feedback.
02
Analyse
Identification of the specific balance of factors
that are contributing to the ranking of both
welcome and unwelcome content. Research
conducted on each of the individual sites
appearing in the top pages of the search
results, as well as on the ordering of the sites.
Initial estimation of the factors influencing
the search results under consideration and
the specific interventions required to alter the
balance of factors.
03
Build Technology
Creation of a custom technological
framework for the unique search profile
discovered in the analysis stage.
04
Deploy
Promotion of welcome items and demotion of unwelcome items
using our proprietary and patented technology and methods. In
most engagements, we begin at a moderate pace and then increase
pressure as the search registers change. A measured approach
allows for the best balance between cost and impact. For crisis
engagements, we begin more aggressively, although there is a
natural limit to how fast we can apply pressure without creating
unnatural looking trends.
05
Bolster Positive Content (Optional)
As necessary, creation of new content to provide supplemental
ranking strength to pre-existing welcome materials. Sometimes
the positive sites in the search profile are not authoritative enough,
or of sufficient diversity, to produce satisfactory results with
technological promotion alone.
In these cases, we create new sites, according to client
specifications, that meet the necessary criteria for authority and
diversity.
06
Reassess & Refine
• Continual assessment of the effectiveness of the
engagement, based on the most current data
• Refinement of the technological framework (as required) to
increase its efficacy.
• Real-time incorporation of any new positive or negative sites
into the remediation strategy.
• Testing of the level of support necessary to create the
greatest likelihood of permanent positive change.
 CONCLUSION: PROTECT WHAT
MAT TERS

56%
All individuals must be proactive when it comes to
protecting their reputation.

For a high-profile individual, however, the risks are even

greater.

Managing the reputation of a high-profile individual is

far from straightforward. There are many pitfalls, but
there are also a number of proactive steps that can be
taken to mitigate risk. A well-organised high-profile
individual, operating with clear policies and procedures,
is far more likely to be strategically prepared when facing
reputation issues. Effective online reputation management
and privacy control are not only a safeguard against of people have found
professional damage; they will help protect your legacy
and those that matter most to you.
something online that
solidified their decision to do
business with someone.

The importance of a positive online reputation cannot be underestimated. Contact one of our experienced
high-profile individual account manager today and discover how ReputationDefender® can help you take
control of your online reputation.

Tel: +44 (0)800 131 0700 Email Address: hello@reputationdefender.com

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