royal family

When bodyguards become the risk

LeMareschal

This is another great example of when the bodyguards refuse to learn and thus, become the risk. It’s one thing for civilians to overlook digital footprints. But when trained EP agents repeatedly ignore known vulnerabilities, that’s not merely a mistake, it’s a significant security failure. And unfortunately this isn’t new.

In 2018, Strava’s Global Heatmap exposed covert military bases and routine patrol routes. That was seven years ago. We’ve known about this. In 2024, investigations revealed dozens of EP agents from U.S., French, and Russian teams publicly sharing workout data, which included 26 U.S. agents (Biden’s EP team), 12 French GSPR members (Macron’s team) and 6 Russian FSO officers (Putin’s team).

And now, in 2025, Swedish bodyguards for the Prime Minister and Royal Family posted over 1,400 workouts to Strava, at least 35 of them revealed sensitive locations, including the PM’s residence, diplomatic sites, and vacation spots. Some of that data is still live and public today…

Let’s be clear: This isn’t a tech glitch! This isn’t bad luck! This is a failure to learn, adapt, and take responsibility. If your security team won’t fix the risks they’re causing, they’re not protecting anyone, they’re compromising everything.

In our profession, “I didn’t know” is not a valid excuse. When you normalize digital negligence, you normalize operational failure. It’s been seven years since the first public warning. If your team still doesn’t have digital discipline, your client is already exposed, and your operation is already compromised.

Read more here https://www.politico.eu/article/swedish-bodyguards-workout-data-exposes-royal-familys-private-vacations/

#ExecutiveProtection #Strava #DigitalSecurityRisks #SecurityFailure #StravaLeaks #ProtectiveIntelligence #OperationalSecurity #DataExposure

Do you know who you are hiring?

LeMareschal1 Comment

Do we really know what the role of the Close Protection Agent is? Do we really know what characteristics they must have before we start hiring people?

We have taken many times in the past analyzing what kind of training a CPO must have gone through, but this time, after the recent incident with Kate Middleton’s bodyguard I thought to share with you my thoughts in a different topic.(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1352267/Kate-Middletons-bodyguard-accused-victimising-black-policewoman.html?ito=feeds-newsxml).

Besides being well trained and licensed, a Close Protection Agent must be someone who you can trust, if you trust him/her your life then don’t you think they need to meet some ethical requirements? A CPO must be someone who will not use your personal or business information to write a book or make ‘’a story’’ in the TV. We have seen way too many bodyguards, that after being fired they discovered the author inside them and start putting on a book all the personal details of their ex client. Professional? I don’t think so. Remember that being responsible for your safety they are there with you, in almost every moment of your daily life, in your dates, when you discuss or arrange important business deals etc, so it is very important that person to be discreet and confidential.

What about their personal ethics? Would you hire someone that has been accused or charged for illegal actions? Of course we all deserve a second chance in our life. But it is necessary for you to investigate and do a good research on the person’s you are going to hire background. In my experience I have seen people who have been charged for financial frauds and run security companies, people who have pending accusations against their convictions of violence and many more examples.

So would you rather trust those kinds of people or stay away and look to hire those with Clean Criminal Record?

Denida Zinxhiria

Athena Academy Founder