In the U.S. military, "staying left of the boom" refers to disarming malicious actors before they can build, plant and ultimately detonate a bomb. And while defusing physical bombs may not be as much of imminent concern to companies, metaphorical bombs in the form of espionage, terrorism, thefts and workplace violence can still result in severe physical, psychological, financial and reputational damage. Just as soldiers are prepared to attend to the aftermath of a physical attack, corporate personnel must still be well-trained to quickly and efficiently respond to a security incident. But it is always better to avoid or prevent a threat altogether, which is exactly where protective intelligence teams and programs step in by giving life to the proactive security measures needed to help companies and organizations stay out of harm's way.