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The Defuse Podcast. Listen Now
Be hard to find. Even harder to target.
Almost everything someone would need to reach you and your family is already public. We find it, take away what can be taken away, and manage what is left. Most of the people who would have become a problem never get started.
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You know something is not right. You cannot quite name it yet.
If your name, your wealth or your position attracts attention, some of that attention is simply part of the life. Occasionally it becomes something else, and it is rarely obvious at the point it changes.
Most families come to us with a version of one of these.:
- Someone has been in touch too often, and the tone has changed.
- A stranger mentioned something they had no way of knowing.
- Your daughter has a follower who worries you.
- A former employee left badly and has not let it go.
- Photographs, addresses or routines are online and you do not know who put them there.
- You have been told it is nothing. You do not believe it is nothing
The hardest part is rarely what is happening. It is not knowing what it means.
Three steps, and the first one costs you nothing
1. A confidential conversation Thirty minutes with Philip. You describe what has been happening. We tell you honestly whether you need us, and if you do not, we say so.
2. We measure what is exposed Within a few days you have a clear picture of what a stranger could find, where it sits, and which parts of it actually matter. No jargon, no inventory of everything ever published.
3. We reduce it, and stay reachable We remove what can be removed, close the gaps around the rest, and remain on the end of the phone. If there is something you need to know, you hear it from us first.
Our Digital Exposure Assessment shows you exactly what information is available online, where it appears, and how it could be used by someone with hostile or unhealthy intent.In just a few days, you'll have:
- a clear picture of your exposure
- an understanding of what actually matters
- a proportionate plan for reducing risk
Clarity replaces guesswork. Calm decisions replace anxiety.
When a client brings you something outside your remit
Lawyers, wealth managers, reputation specialists and family office executives call us when a client brings them something outside their own competence and they need an answer by Monday. We tell you whether the concern is justified, what it is likely to become, and what a proportionate response looks like. You keep the relationship. You are the one who knew exactly who to call.
Resources for AdvisersOur adviser materials are designed to strengthen your client relationships, not complicate them.
Most situations arrive long before they become clear. A fixated stranger behaves differently from a disgruntled former employee. Someone testing boundaries online is a different problem from someone escalating in person. The work begins by establishing which of those you are actually dealing with, and which direction it is moving in. That judgement was built over three decades in UK law enforcement, protecting the Royal Family, government ministers and Members of Parliament.. Clients tell us things they would not comfortably say elsewhere. We will tell you when concern is justified, when it is not, and what your options are. No unnecessary alarm and no theatrics. What is shared with us stays with us.Reading the situation correctly
Speaking in confidence
Personal Threat Management: The practitioner's guide to keeping clients safer - #1 Best Seller
Personal Threat Management: The practitioner's guide to keeping clients safer is a practical guide for professionals required to make sound judgements about personal risk — often in conditions of uncertainty, pressure, and incomplete information.
Drawing on decades of frontline experience, Philip Grindell explains how to distinguish between behavioural noise and genuine threat, and how to respond proportionately before situations escalate unnecessarily.
Rather than promoting security activity for its own sake, the book focuses on understanding behaviour, intent, access, and trajectory — the factors that determine whether concern warrants action or reassurance.
Written for security practitioners, law enforcement, legal advisers, HR professionals, and others responsible for supporting at-risk individuals or organisations, the book provides clear frameworks, evidence-based insight, and real-world examples drawn from complex, high-consequence cases.
If your role involves assessing concern, advising decision-makers, or protecting people without overreacting, Personal Threat Management is a reference you will return to repeatedly.
Reading the situation correctly
Most situations arrive long before they become clear.
We help clients understand what behaviour means, whether concern is justified, and what response is proportionate.
That judgement comes from more than thirty years of experience assessing risk, behaviour and escalation in cases involving prominent individuals and sensitive situations — including training under Dr Robert Fein, co-author of the U.S. Secret Service study into targeted violence.
When the situation is unclear, the response should not be.
Every case has its own shape
A fixated stranger behaves differently from a disgruntled former employee. Someone testing personal boundaries online is not the same as someone escalating in person.
The work begins by understanding which kind of situation this actually is — and how it is changing. We assess behaviour, intent and trajectory so clients can make proportionate decisions based on the specifics, not on assumption.
Speaking in confidence
Clients speak to us about situations they may not feel comfortable discussing elsewhere.
We will tell you when concern is justified, when it is not, and what options are available to you. No unnecessary alarm. No overstatement. No theatrics.
What is shared with us stays with us.
At a personal level, Philip is the person who tells me whether my client is actually in danger, and if so, what to do about it.
He won’t oversell, he won’t undersell- he’ll just tell me the truth. That clarity and integrity are invaluable. Defuse’s regular reporting provides calm, evidence-based reassurance, cutting through noise and unfounded concern. On one occasion, their rigorous, scientific assessment enabled appropriate escalation to law enforcement, resulting in a decisive outcome.
Defuse Global is now a trusted part of our protective ecosystem, and I would recommend them without hesitation.