Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 24 February 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.

The Gate 15 Interview EP 55. Allan Liska, Ransomware Sommelier. Threats, mental health, comic books and Diet Dr. Pepper. 

The Gate 15 Interview is a monthly interview between Gate 15’s Founder and Managing Director, Andy Jabbour and guests from throughout the homeland security risk management community addressing a wide range of all-hazards topics and issues. 

In this week’s Gate 15 Interview, Andy and Allan covered the following topics:

• Evolving Threats, mission creep and STDs 
• The ever-evolving threat of ransomware and the value of collaboration  
• Resilience: mental health, taking care of your people 
• And more! 

Information on other Gate 15 podcasts can be found here.  

JRIC Threat Assessment – No Specific Credible Threats During Ramadan 2025 in the JRC AOR 

Ramadan in 2025 is anticipated to start on the evening of Friday, February 28, and end on the evening of Sunday, March 30, with the exact dates depending on the moon sighting. The Joint Regional Intelligence Center (JRIC) has reported no specific or credible threats with their six-country jurisdiction in Southern California. A complete threat assessment has been uploaded to the FB-ISAO Slack for members to review and FB-ISAO will provide additional reports on Ramadan later this week.  

Analyst Comments: 

The community is reminded that religious observances during Ramadan may require increased awareness and security measures, as well as sensitivity to the diverse practices and needs of those observing the holiday.Ramadan Information Sheet  

ISAC chief on CISA security rollbacks: ‘The sky isn’t falling, yet.’

The article discusses concerns around recent cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), particularly in relation to election security. While some see these reductions as threatening long-term cybersecurity resilience, Denise Anderson, president of the Health ISAC, remains cautiously optimistic. “ISACS are communities of trust built on private-sector collaboration, and that model has worked for over 25 years.” Additionally, “the sky isn’t falling, yet” Anderson said. “But we need to remain vigilant, and industry must step up to fill any gaps left behind the CISA.” Anderson notes that ISACs have been around long before CISA and have proven track record of private-sector collaboration. She stresses the importance of vigilance and industry support in the face of these changes.  

Analyst Comments: 

Anderson emphasizes the importance of ISACs and private-sector collaboration, pointing out that these networks have been successful for over 25 years, demonstrating their effectiveness in cybersecurity. It’s worth considering how this model can continue to grow, particularly as government support diminishes. The Faith-Based ISAO members engage in daily sharing of threat intelligence on our Slack Workspace. To learn more about how to get involved, check out our membership page.