New ASIS International Research Sponsored by Everbridge Finds Critical Gaps in Active Assailant Preparedness

2026 study finds communication speed, planning, and emerging technologies remain key areas of focus as workplace violence tops security concerns

VIENNA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Everbridge, the global leader in High Velocity Critical Event Management (CEM), today announced the findings of new research conducted by ASIS International examining how organizations are preparing for active assailant incidents and workplace violence, and where significant preparedness gaps remain.

The 2026 Active Assailant Preparedness Report, sponsored by Everbridge, builds on research conducted in 2020, 2023 and 2024 to show how security practices and priorities have evolved over time. This year’s study also examines emerging areas including artificial intelligence and behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM).

Based on responses from 875 security professionals, the findings point to a persistent gap between recognizing the risk and being confident an organization is ready to respond. While workplace violence and active shooter incidents ranked as the top two security concerns among respondents, only 39% of security professionals said they were highly or mostly confident their organization is prepared for an active assailant incident.

Communication speed remains a particular challenge. Although most organizations have an active assailant security plan, only 32% of respondents said their organization could notify all employees, students, or residents at an affected facility or campus within seconds. More than half said notification would take minutes.

“Active assailant incidents leave almost no margin for delay or uncertainty,” said Pamela Larson, Chief Security Officer at Everbridge. “Organizations have made preparedness a priority, but this research shows that having a plan is only part of the equation. People need timely information, security teams need a clear understanding of what is happening, and organizations need the ability to act quickly as circumstances change. The goal is to give people the information they need to make the safest possible decisions.”

Preparedness Goes Beyond Having a Plan

The research identifies several practices strongly associated with greater confidence in active assailant preparedness, including comprehensive planning, regular drills, investment in communications technology, faster notification capabilities, and behavioral threat assessment and management teams.

The study also examines the growing role of AI in active assailant preparedness. More than half of respondents reported already using AI for at least one use case, including surveillance, intelligence and information analysis, threat identification, and weapons detection. Yet familiarity with these applications remains limited.

“ASIS International and Everbridge share a deep commitment to helping organizations better understand, anticipate, and manage risk,” said Eddie Sorrells, CPP, PSP, PCI, 2026 President, ASIS International. “This year’s work expands our focus on how behavioral threat assessment and management teams are helping prevent incidents before they occur, as well as how artificial intelligence is being applied to strengthen prevention, preparedness, and organizational resilience.”

What More Prepared Organizations Do Differently

Beyond measuring overall readiness, the report examines the practices associated with greater preparedness, including planning, training, communications technology, and notification speed. The full report explores the impact of those practices and provides additional findings on law enforcement coordination, AI adoption, emergency communications, and behavioral threat assessment.

To explore the complete findings, download the 2026 Active Assailant Preparedness Report.

About Everbridge
Everbridge helps more than 6,500 enterprises and government organizations manage critical events by enabling them to know earlier, respond faster, and improve continuously. Through an all-in-one AI-powered platform, Everbridge High Velocity CEM™ is autonomous when you want it to be and human-guided when you need it to be, so every incident response is optimized. For more information, visit everbridge.com and follow us on LinkedIn.