Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 20 August 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. 

Hurricane Erin to unleash dangerous surf, rip currents along 2,000 miles of East Coast

Hurricane Erin is currently brewing off the Atlantic coast, and although it is not expected to make landfall, its immense size and strength are already generating hazardous conditions along the U.S. East Coast. AccuWeather meteorologists warn that Erin’s powerful wind field will spawn massive waves, relentless surf, and strong rip currents. On North Carolina’s Outer Banks, a Tropical Storm warning and a Tropical Storm Watch are in effect.

The storm’s eye is forecast to pass about 200 miles offshore of Cape Hatteras, but Erin’s broad reach means coastal flooding, erosion, and over wash. AccuWeather projects a storm surge of 1 to 3 feet in many regions, rising 3 to 6 feet in parts of eastern North Carolina, with waves on top of the surge likely reaching 10 to 15 feet and even up to 20 feet. With the worst conditions expected between Wednesday night and Thursday, threats include widespread beach erosion, damage to infrastructure, sporadic power outages from winds gusts of 40-60 mph, and isolation of barrier island communities.

Analyst Comments: Hurricane Erin illustrates the increasing challenge of storms that may never make landfall but are still causing disruption across thousands of miles of coastline. Erin’s impacts highlight key issues like size and reach matter, barrier islands remaining a high vulnerability, and communication and compliance concerns. 

What to do and how to prepare:

• Follow official alerts
• Respect evacuations
• Stay out of water
• Secure property
• Prepare supplies
• Plan communication

Report: Russian Sabotage Operations In Europe Have Quadrupled Since 2023

According to a report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies, since 2023, Russia has dramatically escalated sabotage operations across Europe, nearly quadrupling attacks on critical infrastructure. These so-called hybrid assaults span a wide range of tactics, including arson, undersea cable damage, GPS signal interference, and cyber intrusions into vital computer systems. The efforts appear to be orchestrated through proxy actors and exploit legal loopholes intensified after the expulsion of Russian intelligence officers. Despite mounting evidence of these covert attacks, European governments have struggled to mount a coordinated response establish deterrence and impose meaningful costs on the Kremlin. Interestingly, the report shows a slowdown in the frequency of such attacks in the first half of 2025, though it remains unclear why.

Analyst Comments: The report underscores how Russia has adapted its hybrid warfare toolkit to destabilize Europe through deniable, low-cost sabotage rather than overt military action. The shift allows Russia to maintain deniability while targeting critical infrastructure and cause disruption and uncertainty without crossing the threshold of open conflict. While the decline in incidents in early 2025 could suggest a temporary pause, it is more likely a tactical adjustment as Russia studies Western responses and adapts its approach.

Weekly Security Sprint EP 123. Drone analysis, Hurricane Erin, and perimeter fences

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.

In this week’s Security Sprint Dave and Andy covered the following topics:

• Crypto ISAC
• fun Exploited for $7 million as 58.2 BTC Stole in Security Breach
• BtcTurk under attack again: withdrawals suspected after alleged $50 million hack & major Turkish Crypto Exchange
• Treasury Sanctions Cryptocurrency Exchange and Network Enabling Sanctions Evasion and Cyber Criminals

The above Gate 15 Weekly Security Sprint website also provides links to many security-related items of interest.

Information on other Gate 15 podcasts can be found at Podcast.