Be active assailant ready
Protect people during active assailant incidents with faster emergency communication, automated safety workflows, and coordinated response capabilities designed to help reduce risk, accelerate action, and save lives.
Protect people in real-time
The need for active assailant solutions lies in their ability to deliver rapid response and effective communication during critical incidents. By enhancing situational awareness, these solutions protect lives and streamline emergency procedures, ensuring organizational readiness. As threats evolve, deploying advanced technologies is crucial to safeguard employees and assets, reducing potential disruptions. Everbridge empowers organizations to promptly manage crises, maintaining security and resilience in unpredictable environments, ensuring that every second counts when protecting human lives and operational continuity.
Rapid response
- Identifying potential threats before they escalate can be difficult without the right tools and data.
Communication
- During emergencies, quick and effective communication is crucial, ensuring that all employees are reached promptly.
Fast-paced situation
- Coordinating between various response teams can be complex, especially in larger organizations.
How to prepare for active assailant incidents with Everbridge
Benefits
- Real-time monitoring and alerts: Monitor threats and send real-time alerts to help organizations take proactive action and protect people during critical events.
- Improved multi-channel communications: Deliver notifications across SMS, mobile, email, voice, and collaboration tools to quickly share information and coordinate response efforts.
- Efficient emergency coordination: Streamline emergency procedures and resource management to support faster and more effective incident response.
- Enhanced situational awareness: Provide a centralized view of incidents, impacted locations, and response activities in real time.
- Automated emergency notifications: Automate alert workflows to accelerate response times and reduce the impact of critical events.
- Data-driven insights: Use analytics and reporting to improve emergency plans and strengthen organizational preparedness.
Features
- Instant incident updates: Deliver critical alerts and updates in real time to support immediate action and informed decisions.
- Multi-channel notifications: Communicate across multiple platforms and devices to help ensure messages reach the right people quickly.
- Secure emergency messaging: Share sensitive information securely during critical incidents and emergency response efforts.
- Automated alerts: Automatically trigger notifications and response actions based on predefined rules or incident types.
- Resource and alert tracking: Track personnel, assets, and resources to improve coordination and response effectiveness.
- Data analytics and reporting: Analyze incident and communication data to support planning and continuous improvement.
- Post-incident analysis: Review response activity and outcomes to identify gaps and improve future preparedness.
2024 Active assailant preparedness report
In the current dynamic threat landscape, the threat of an active assailant tops the list of potential threats security professionals say they must prepare for. Everbridge partnered with ASIS to survey around 700 security professionals to establish benchmark data on how the training, the tools, and the approach to active assailant preparedness has evolved.
Solution
Everbridge offers a comprehensive approach to protecting people in an emergency. Our High Velocity Critical Event Management™ platform, Everbridge 360, uses Purpose-built AI functionality to provide real-time updates and a 360-degree view of ongoing situations. This ensures rapid dissemination of critical information, enabling organizations to proactively manage threats and protect lives. This robust framework is designed to address the complexities of active assailant incidents effectively.
Rice University leverages Everbridge to foster a safer community
“We have a lot of foot traffic around our campus, and for students to feel as though they have a safe journey across campus at night… we will be using that system.”
How it works
Everbridge utilizes a combination of real-time data streams, multi-channel notifications, and automated alerts. These elements collaborate to provide seamless communication and swift coordination among all stakeholders, including employees and emergency responders. Secure messaging and visibility into student and faculty locations further enhance the operational capabilities, ensuring that the response is both timely and efficient, minimizing potential risks.
Ready to raise the standard in executive protection?
Gain complimentary access to the ASIS and Everbridge report: Benchmarking Research on Risk-Based Approaches to Executive Protection.
This exclusive ASIS and Everbridge report reveals how risks are real and rising. With public threats escalating and high-profile attacks increasing, today’s leaders can’t afford outdated approaches. Executive Protection programs must move faster, think smarter, and anticipate more.
Outcome
Organizations using Everbridge active assailant solutions can improve preparedness, safety, and crisis response with faster communication, enhanced situational awareness, and more efficient incident management. Everbridge 360 helps organizations:
- Reduce response times with automated workflows
- Reach impacted people across 100+ communication channels
- Improve employee accountability with real-time check-ins
- Accelerate threat response with AI-powered risk intelligence
- Strengthen operational resilience during critical events
Active assailant preparedness checklist for organizations
This checklist offers a collection of strategic steps designed to enhance an organization’s readiness to face potential active assailant threats. By implementing these strategies, organizations can not only create safer environments but also build confidence in their prevention and preparedness frameworks, ensuring everyone is equipped to respond effectively in the event of an incident.
Large-scale event preparedness guides for public & private sector
Major sporting events create dynamic conditions which drive real-time disruption across multiple sectors.
Explore two guides, one for public sector organizations and one for private sector leaders, to find out how to maintain continuity, protect people, and respond faster under pressure.
“The Everbridge tool has just made it easy for us to reach mass numbers of people, easily. An active shooter event locally, or an act of terrorism that could impact global travelers, or if it’s a weather-driven event or crisis, we feel confident that we can reach all of our employees in those situations and keep them out of harm’s way.”
Mark Terry, Director of Global Enterprise Security for Rackspace
Industry solutions for an active assailant event
Education
Active assailant incidents severely disrupt educational environments, causing emotional trauma, fear, and long-term psychological effects. They also lead to heightened security measures, altered school routines, increased absenteeism, and strained resources.
Learn about essential strategies for maintaining campus safety in our eBook on ensuring campus safety. As civil unrest on campuses becomes more frequent, having robust strategies is crucial for protecting students, faculty, and staff. This comprehensive guide equips campus administrators with actionable insights and preparedness strategies.
Retail
Within retail environments, active shooter incidents are a growing concern due to the potential for mass casualties. Everbridge can offer real-time monitoring, multi-channel notifications, and efficient coordination. These features enhance safety by ensuring rapid communication and streamlined responses, protecting employees and customers during critical incidents.
Government
For governmental organizations, active shooter incidents underscore the importance of robust security measures, crisis management protocols, and coordinated response efforts to protect employees, citizens, and critical infrastructure. Everbridge solutions can enhance safety protocols and protecting government personnel and facilities during critical incidents.
Corporate
Active assailant incidents severely affect corporate organizations by endangering employee safety, causing operational disruptions, incurring financial losses, and damaging reputations. Implementing a robust suite of solutions from Everbridge can mitigate these impacts and safeguard both personnel and business continuity.
Supporting resources
Leveraging technology for enhanced active assailant preparedness
Technological solutions have proven to be a game-changer in improving communication, and it is an essential part of active assailant preparedness.
The critical importance of active assailant preparedness in today’s workplace
Digital communication tools are essential to bridge the gap and ensure that all employees receive timely alerts and instructions during an emergency.
Active assailant preparedness: Risks and recommendations
Get a first look at the results of ASIS’s 2024 Active Assailant Preparedness Survey, a comprehensive compilation of insights, practices, and experiences shared by over 700 security professionals.
Actionable strategies to mitigate active assailant risk
Join Everbridge as we discuss actionable strategies to mitigate active assailant risks.
Guide to active shooter drills in the workplace
Ensuring the safety and security of employees has become paramount in today’s unpredictable world. The tragic rise in active shooter incidents in the US serves as a stark reminder of the need for preparedness.
Interview with Mark Terry, Director of Global Enterprise Security at Rackspace
See why Rackspace uses Everbridge, integrated with InternationalSOS, NC4 and other systems, to launch immediate notifications to travelers and mobile employees.
8 Steps to building a corporate physical security strategy
A proactive approach to security risk management is essential for business continuity and workplace safety. Organizations require a clear, comprehensive strategy to address these challenges effectively.
Workplace safety: Protect against terrorism & active assailant threats
Watch as industry experts as they outline strategies to safeguard your organization and employees from modern-day risks.
Active shooter response plan for higher education
Advancements in technology can help keep educational institutions safe by integrating systems and automating processes through a single common operating picture.
Active assailant FAQs
What is an active assailant, and what does “active assailant preparedness” include?
An active assailant is an individual attempting to cause harm in a populated area, often in a fast-moving and unpredictable situation.
Active assailant preparedness includes the plans, tools, and processes organizations use to help protect people before, during, and after an incident. This can include emergency notifications, real-time threat monitoring, coordinated response workflows, situational awareness, employee safety check-ins, and collaboration with first responders.
What should organizations do in the first 5 minutes of an active shooter/active assailant incident?
In the first five minutes of an active shooter or active assailant incident, organizations should focus on rapidly protecting people and establishing clear communication. This includes sending immediate emergency alerts, sharing verified instructions such as lockdown or evacuation guidance, accounting for employee or student safety, and coordinating with security teams and first responders. Having predefined response plans and automated communication workflows can help reduce confusion, accelerate response times, and improve situational awareness during a rapidly evolving event.
How can we communicate with employees and first responders during an active assailant event?
Organizations can communicate during an active assailant event by using a mass notification and critical event management platform to send real-time alerts across multiple channels, including mobile, SMS, email, desktop, voice calls, and digital signage. These systems help deliver clear instructions, share situational updates, confirm employee safety, and coordinate response efforts with security teams and first responders. Centralized communication and real-time visibility can help reduce confusion and improve response coordination during rapidly evolving incidents.
How does Everbridge 360 detect, verify, and target alerts to only impacted people and locations?
Everbridge 360 uses AI-powered risk intelligence, real-time monitoring, and integrated data sources to detect potential threats as incidents unfold. The platform helps verify events by correlating information from trusted sources, security feeds, and location data to improve situational awareness and reduce false alarms. Using dynamic location intelligence and organizational data, Everbridge 360 can then target alerts to only the people, buildings, sites, or regions impacted—helping organizations deliver faster, more relevant communications while minimizing unnecessary disruptions.
Which systems should integrate with an active assailant solution (access control, video, CAD/911, HRIS, SSO)?
An effective active assailant solution should integrate with key security, communications, and operational systems to improve response speed and coordination. Common integrations include access control systems, video surveillance and CCTV platforms, CAD/911 and public safety systems, HRIS and employee directories, visitor management tools, SSO and identity providers, collaboration platforms, and mass notification systems. These integrations help organizations automate workflows, improve situational awareness, target communications more accurately, and coordinate response efforts across teams and first responders during critical events.
How can we account for people and confirm safety in real time during an incident?
Organizations can account for people and confirm safety in real time by using emergency communication and critical event management platforms that support two-way communication and automated safety check-ins. During an incident, organizations can send targeted alerts asking employees to confirm their status, share their location, or request assistance through mobile devices, SMS, email, or collaboration tools. Real-time dashboards and reporting help security teams quickly identify who is safe, who may need help, and which locations are impacted, improving situational awareness and supporting faster response coordination.
What training and drills are recommended for active assailant preparedness, and how often?
Everbridge recommends organizations conduct regular active assailant training and drills as part of a broader preparedness strategy. Recommended activities include employee awareness training, tabletop exercises, lockdown and evacuation drills, communication testing, and realistic scenario-based exercises that help employees practice response protocols and understand their roles during an incident.
Everbridge guidance also emphasizes reviewing and updating response plans regularly, conducting post-drill debriefs, and gathering feedback to improve preparedness over time. While the exact frequency should align with an organization’s risk profile and operational needs, Everbridge materials consistently recommend scheduling drills and training sessions on a regular basis to reinforce readiness and maintain effective response coordination.
