Why Physical Security Now Starts With Digital Exposure

Last November, Felix P. Nater, a workplace security consultant and president of Nater Associates Ltd., told ProSight that companies can no longer treat digital threats and physical threats as separate problems. Protecting executives, employees, and worksites now requires a more integrated approach—one that accounts for how easily online exposure can turn into real-world risk. 

That message feels even more timely now as executive-targeting incidents rise and swatting and other hybrid threats continue to show how digital harassment can trigger real-world security incidents. Nater will revisit that overlap later this month as part of ProSight’s June 17 webinar on data security and physical security. 

Several themes emerge: 

The cyber-physical divide is breaking down. Advanced technology can strengthen executive protection through “threat detection, improved communications, real-time drone surveillance, GPS tracking, and robust digital monitoring to identify and mitigate cyber and physical security threats,” Nater said. But technology also enables digital exposure that can inform the opening move in a physical attack. As he put it, “Cyber threats are the easiest methods to frustrate executives and expose their weaknesses.” 

The human factor is still the weak point. “The biggest threats to protecting executives and employees are the executives and employees who find execution cumbersome or unnecessary,” Nater said. Technology matters, but only if people respect it and follow protocols. His broader warning is that “security is a team effort” and that managing threats “requires an integrated effort.” 

Concern about executive targeting is rising for a reason. Nater said it is fair to say the worry is “more acute than five or 10 years ago.” He cited 462 publicly reported threats to high-profile individuals in 2024, or “39 per month,” and called the sense of vulnerability “a real and present danger” that can be mitigated through “quality training, security measures, and technology.” More recent reporting points in the same direction, including a sharp rise in executive-targeting incidents in 2025 and swatting episodes that show how digital harassment can trigger a real-world law enforcement response. 

Training has to do more than check a box. Nater said employees often see workplace violence prevention training as repetitive, while active shooter training can feel “scary and emotionally draining.” His answer is more useful training—especially scenario-based executive protection training that explains the “why” and “how” of “attitude, behavior, situational awareness, immediate response, and use of technology in reducing and managing risks.” 

Banks have their own version of this problem. Nater noted that local branches have become hubs for more complex customer needs and more personalized interactions. That change can increase “potential customer-employee conflicts,” even as AI begins to play a bigger role in workplace violence prevention, conflict management, and incident management. 

The takeaway: Nater’s message is that physical security can no longer be managed as a stand-alone function. Online exposure monitoring, executive behavior, training, and site security now have to work together—or bad actors who exploit the gaps between them will. ProSight’s June 17 webinar, “Connecting Data Security and Physical Security,” will take up that overlap directly.