TCH2609. Digital Self-Defense 2026: Personal Privacy as Executive Cyber Hygiene

In 2026, privacy is no longer just about protecting your credit card—it is about managing the risk to your reputation, your family, and your firm as a critical component of executive cyber hygiene. As AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini become commonplace, the public data you leave online (your "digital footprint") is increasingly used to fuel targeted attacks that can bypass corporate firewalls.

This session skips the technical complexity to provide a practical, non-technical guide to digital self-defense. We will audit your personal exposure the way a bad actor would—looking at data brokers, social media, and AI platforms—and provide a checklist of simple settings to lock them down. Whether you are a partner, a sole practitioner, or simply a privacy-conscious person, you will leave with actionable steps to better secure your digital life and your business.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize how AI tool & attacker research techniques utilize public information to create targeted fraud and reputation risks.
• Identify the specific components of a "digital footprint"—including data broker listings and metadata—that expose personal information.
• Select appropriate privacy settings to secure personal accounts, mobile devices, and Generative AI platforms.
• Explain the relationship between personal digital hygiene and the broader security risks to your firm.