Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 25 November 2025

These updates are shared to help raise the situational awareness of Faith-Based organizations to best defend against and mitigate the impacts from all-hazards threats including physical security, cybersecurity, and natural disasters. 

Threat Intelligence Bulletin: Holiday Event Threats and Safety Guidance

The threat level for holiday church services and events is classified as HIGH by Christian Warrior, despite no specific credible threat to any individual church at this moment the threat level is HIGH. The elevated risk is due to the predicable, public nature of large-scale gatherings, which can attract crowds and create ideal conditions for motivated attackers. Lone offenders remain the most likely source of attacks, with potential motivations spanning from ideology, personal grievance, mental-health issues, or attention-seeking. Pre-attack indicators that should prompt early intervention include unusual surveillance actions, attempts to access restricted areas, suspicious clothing or behavior, and comments referencing past holiday-related attacks.

Analyst Comments: Christian Warrior issued a series of recommended actions for HOWs and their security teams. Recommendations included bolstering exterior and interior monitoring for parking lots, check-in lines, and children’s ministry areas. Alongside, communication between sanctuary and ancillary spaces, reminding congregants of safety procedures, and liaising proactively with local law enforcement.

Thanksgiving US travel: Storms, blizzard and fog to disrupt millions

Millions of people travelling in the U.S. ahead of Thanksgiving are facing significant disruptions due to a complex of weather systems bringing thunderstorms, heavy rain, fog and a blizzard.  A storm from the South will push into the East and North‐Central U.S., bringing gusty thunderstorms, flooding downpours, and hazardous driving conditions, especially along major corridors like Interstate 85.  Meanwhile, in the North-Central states and Great Lakes region, a separate system will evolve into a snowstorm and possible blizzard conditions with heavy snow and near-zero visibility impacting travel.  In the Pacific Northwest, an atmospheric river will send heavy rain and high-elevation snow, also threatening both road and air travel.  On Thanksgiving Day itself, the bulk of travel problems are expected to concentrate within 100 miles of the Great Lakes and across the northern Rockies to the coastal Northwest, although other areas (such as parts of Florida) may experience localized disruptions from thunderstorms.  In the East (including cities like New York City), rainfall and fog will be tapering, but gusty winds may still affect outdoor events and balloon handling for parades.

Analyst Comments: The holiday travel period will be high-risk for delays and incidents simply because multiple weather systems are converging across major travel corridors at the same time millions are on the move. Storm impacts will vary by region, so travelers should monitor local conditions closely and stay flexible. The biggest hazards include reduced visibility from fog, rapidly deteriorating road conditions in snow- and ice-affected areas, and localized flooding or hydroplaning risks in rainy regions. Air travelers should anticipate cascading delays since storms in one region often disrupt flight schedules nationwide.

For personal safety and situational awareness, travelers should avoid pushing through dangerous conditions, especially at night when visibility drops further. Build in extra time, keep emergency kits in vehicles, and verify road conditions with state DOTs before departing. For air travel, enroll in airline alerts, track your flight through the airline’s app, and consider earlier connections where possible. Above all, remain weather-aware, expect changes, and prioritize safety over schedules during this high-volume travel period.

Weekly Security Sprint EP 136. A full menu of insiders, a new AWS report, and a lot of quick hits

The Gate 15 Security Sprint is a weekly rundown of the week’s notable all-hazards security news, risks and threats and some of the key focus areas for organizations to consider behind the headlines. Gate 15 team members discuss physical security, cybersecurity, natural hazards, health threats and other issues across our environment.

This week’s Gate 15 Weekly Security Sprint Dave and Andy covered the following topics:

• Insider Threats: Former contractor admits to hacking employer in retaliation for termination
• CrowdStrike catches insider feeding information to hackers
• Rising cost of trust as insider behavior becomes a weak link in critical infrastructure cyber defense
• Blended Threats, you say? AWS: New Amazon Threat Intelligence findings: Nation-state actors bridging cyber and kinetic warfare & Amazon details Iranian “cyber-enabled kinetic targeting” operations

Information on other Gate 15 podcasts can be found at Podcasts (gate15.global).