Liferaft, a leader in open-source intelligence (OSINT), investigations and threat intelligence technology, and Rebel Global Security (RGS) today released Managing Political Violence and Instability: A Guide for Corporations ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The guide helps businesses assess risks to their people, facilities, and operations and determine when and how to adjust their security response.
Combining public research, established security standards, and practitioner expertise, the guide’s four-phase framework helps corporations assess exposure, evaluate threats, select mitigation measures, and review results for continuous improvement. The guide aims to help corporate security teams distinguish credible threats from lawful activism and political expression and calibrate responses to each.
Drawing on data from the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), a leading academic center for the study of terrorism at the University of Maryland (UMD), the guide cites nearly 3,000 terrorism and targeted violence incidents in the United States from 2023 through 2025, with a 30% increase in incidents between 2024 and 2025.
The guide notes that demonstration activity is also surging. Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) recorded nearly 20,000 U.S. demonstrations in 2025, a 77% increase from 2024 and the highest annual total since 2020. Violent or contentious activity was reported at just 0.5% of those demonstrations. The guide states that large lawful demonstrations can still restrict facility access and disrupt day-to-day operations, a risk that calls for a different response than a credible threat of violence.
“Security teams need clear, actionable intelligence to recognize warning signs early and understand the organizational impact,” said Jonathan Graff, President and CEO of Liferaft. “We developed this guide to help businesses connect that intelligence to decisions about protecting their operations and people. The goal is to give teams a consistent process for assessing risk and the confidence to act before a threat escalates to an incident.”
The guide emphasizes distinguishing lawful activism and political expression from conduct that poses a genuine security risk. It also recommends involving legal, HR, communications, and other relevant teams before an incident, so that critical decisions about factors such as building access and public statements have clear owners.
The guide was written by Mark Freedman, Principal and CEO of Rebel Global Security and former Chief of Staff to the U.S. State Department’s Ambassador-at-Large for Counterterrorism; Rachel Kronenfeld, certified investigator and Suite Product Manager at Liferaft; John Mulligan, former Deputy Director of the National Counterterrorism Center; John Adams, former Assistant Director of the FBI Directorate of Intelligence; and Rick Mercuri, former Senior Director of Corporate Security for Santander US.
Freedman will discuss the guide and its recommendations during a LinkedIn Live session on October 22, 2026, at 12:30 PM ET. Viewers can access the event at www.linkedin.com/events/managingpoliticalviolenceriskin7511428598822744065/theater/.
To read the full guide, visit www.info.liferaftlabs.com/managing-political-violence-and-instability.
About Liferaft
Liferaft is a leading provider of SaaS-based Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) solutions that help organizations identify, assess, and respond to threats across the digital landscape. By delivering timely, actionable intelligence, Liferaft enables security teams to protect people, assets, and operations worldwide.
