Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 6 June 2024

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.

FBI Director warns of jihadist attack in US, similar to Russian concert hall

Fox News reports the following:

“FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday that there is an increasing concern of a potential coordinated attack in the U.S., similar to the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) attack in March at a concert hall in Russia.

…

“Given those calls for action, our most immediate concern has been that individuals or small groups will draw a twisted inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks here at home,” he said. “But now, on top of that, increasingly concerning is the potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, not unlike the ISIS-K attack we saw at the Russian concert hall back in March.”

…

Wray also spoke about an elevated threat to the Jewish community in the U.S., which was already in place before Oct. 7, but has increased since.

He said the increase in hate crimes significantly increased by 60% in the first four months after Oct. 7.

Though not all the hate crimes targeted the Jewish community — some targeted Muslim-Americans, Arab-Americans and others — the vast majority did target Jews, Wray explained.”

Related Article:

• FBI Director warns: ‘Threat of terror attacks on whole ‘nother level after October 7’
• Merrick Garland: ‘I’m extremely worried, terror threat way up after October 7’

Analyst Comments:

It is easy to become fatigued by all the threats faced by Faith-Based Organizations (FBO), but there is a need to remain vigilant. All types of threat actors observe security measures and choose a target with the least protection. FBOs should consider maintaining or updating their public-facing and other security measures.

FB-ISAO members are sharing information about threats, domestic protests, and security coordination activities in FB-ISAO Slack. Join here.

FBO’s should consider reviewing the following resources:

• Mitigating Attacks on Houses of Worship – Security Guide (cisa.gov)
• Protecting Places of Worship: Six Steps to Enhance Security Against Targeted Violence (cisa.gov)
• Security of Soft Targets and Crowded Places-Resources Guide
• Information on the See Something, Say Something campaign can be found at About the Campaign | Homeland Security (dhs.gov)
• FEMA – Emergency Management Institute (EMI) Course | IS-904: Active Shooter Prevention: You Can Make a Difference
• Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee (ANZCTC) Active armed offender guidelines for crowded places (nationalsecurity.gov.au)

Additional good resources to improve security are on the FB-ISAO website, which has a Resource Library, with specific Physical Threat Security Resources.

Rethink your password habits to protect your accounts from hackers

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security provides the following guidance on passwords:

• Password reuse puts you at risk
• Credential stuffing
• Password habits to adopt
• Steps to take if your account is compromised
• Learn more

Analyst Comments:

FBOs and FBO members should consider reviewing the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security guidance to protect their professional and personal accounts.

SANS OUCH! Newsletter | Going on Vacation? Simple Steps to Make it Cybersecure

The SANS newsletter provides the following guidance on cybersecurity while traveling:

• Mobile Devices
• Wi-Fi Connections
• Public Computers
• Customs and Local Laws

Analyst Comments:

Many members of FBOs will go on vacation this summer. The guidance provided by SANS can be used by FBO members when traveling for business or pleasure.

Weekly Security Sprint EP 67. Olympic threats, extremism, preparing for AI and elections

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.

On this week’s Security Sprint, Dave and Alec discuss:

• Olympic threats.
  • Physical
  • Cyber
• Extremism Propaganda
• AI and MDM

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 Podcasts (gate15.global).