The recent case of MyFreeCams gave me the perfect example to explain to top management why digital security of individuals should be addressed across all levels of an organization. Their data breach had both reputational and digital security impacts. MyFreeCams here is used only as an example.

The Case

MyFreeCams, an adult chat service, suffered a data breach : 2 million accounts were exfiltrated. The stolen data included usernames, email addresses, and plain-text passwords.

Once again, we see how often online services lack even the most basic security measures, and how these failures directly threaten users.

Threat Modeling

When I deliver training on personal digital security, I hope that threat modeling becomes second nature: before signing up for and using a new service, people should pause and reflect on how it might become a risk. With time, users start to see the many facets of each platform.

Looking back, let’s analyze how the MyFreeCams breach could directly impact individuals.

Identity Theft

Many people still reuse the same password across multiple accounts. With username, email, and password exposed, attackers can try to log in to other services—email, social media, e-commerce, and more.

They can even lock the user out of their account (identity theft) by resetting credentials.

Larger providers (like Google) often detect suspicious activity and block unusual access attempts. Smaller platforms, however, usually lack such safeguards.

Blackmail

In this case, MyFreeCams provides adult video chat services. The exposure of user data could damage reputations. It’s highly likely that some users will receive blackmail emails: pay up, or your use of the service will be revealed.

This isn’t new. Back in 2015, the dating service Ashley Madison suffered a breach exposing 32 million users—including 15,000 government and military employees who then received extortion attempts.

And blackmail doesn’t always mean money. Sometimes the demand is for a certain action—or inaction.

How to Respond (After the Fact)

Of course, defenses should be planned in advance, but we also need to know how to react when the damage is done. Let’s take two likely threats from the MyFreeCams breach:

• identity theft due to password reuse;
• blackmail aimed at harming reputation.

The first is easier to fix: change every account that used the same password, replacing it with a secure, unique, non-predictable one.

The second is more complex and sensitive: if you face blackmail, the first step should be contacting law enforcement. Never negotiate with criminals whose only goal is to make money.

Conclusions

Personal digital security is one of my main concerns, whether I’m speaking to young people or to adults. And it’s critical in business, too. If the infrastructure is strong, it’s far easier for attackers to target people than to break hardened defenses. Attacks on individuals’ reputations can spill over into the company—especially when the targets are key figures.

That’s why awareness must start at the top. I believe digital security culture should be a central part of everyone’s life—both private and professional. If people learn to navigate technology responsibly at home, they’ll bring that awareness into the workplace, creating huge benefits.

Simply delivering corporate video courses on cybersecurity, GDPR, spam, or phishing is not enough. Without context and real-life relevance, those concepts remain sterile, with little value, usefulness, or impact.