Author: Ben Taylor

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.

A neo-Nazi turf war may have just flared in Columbus, Ohio. Jewish, Black and elected leaders won’t stand for it

Elected officials, Jewish advocacy groups and civil rights leaders are vowing to “push back” against the message of a White nationalist group that staged a march last week near downtown Columbus, Ohio, calling the demonstration an act of hate unwelcome in their community – and across the United States. Hate Club, a newly formed White supremacist organization tracked by the Anti-Defamation League, may have been engaging in a turf war when about a dozen members paraded Saturday through the Short North neighborhood wearing all black with red face masks, an executive of the anti-hate group told CNN.

Analyst Comments

The daytime march – past a clothing boutique, a salon and a cookie bakery – erupted as events organized or attended by White supremacists in the United States hit a new high in 2023, the Anti-Defamation League reported. Public gatherings of White nationalists or people with Nazi flags have unfolded in recent years in Nashville, New Hampshire, Boston, Virginia, Michigan and Washington, DC. Columbus Police Chief Elaine R. Bryant acknowledged Monday in a statement, “no one in our community should experience intimidation or harassment. We will continue to strive to make Columbus a city where all residents feel welcome and safe.”

The Department of Justice maintains a webpage with details on how to report a hate crime.

Multiple Catholic-Affiliated Organizations Victims of Ransomware

For those members who receive the daily Ransomware Data Leak Sites Report which is published to subscribing members each day, you may have noticed a Catholic high school in Virginia and a New York Catholic charity that provides senior caregiving services of Rhysida and SAFEPAY Ransomware groups.

Analyst Comments

Monitoring the daily ransomware report provides situational awareness of the evolving ransomware threat. In addition to being able to see specific threat groups that are targeting faith-based organizations, it’s possible to see incidents that may have impacted vendors or other third parties. See below for more information on Rhysida and SAFEPAY.

Rhysida:

• Outmaneuvering Rhysida: How Advanced Threat Intelligence Shields Critical Infrastructure from Ransomware
• HHS: Rhysida Ransomware Profile

SAFEPAY:

• Upstart SafePay ransomware group uses LockBit builder, claims 22 victims
• It’s Not Safe to Pay SafePay

Additional ransomware headlines include:

• Ransomware Group Cooperation: A Growing Challenge in the Fight Against Cybercrime
• Attackers Targeting VPNs Account for 28.7 Percent of Ransomware Incidents in Q3 According to Corvus Insurance Cyber Threat Report

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.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke Delivers Remarks on 15th Anniversary of the Enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act

Assistant AG Clarke highlighted recent statistics from the FBI which show that hate crimes persist and are rising. Recent incidents include:

• Nonprofit employees receiving death threats and verbal abuse because they were members of the Sikh faith.
• Property destroyed at a university center because it served Islamic students.
• Buildings set on fire, shot at, attacked, damaged or destroyed because they were Jehovah’s Witness Halls.
• People followed home from a grocery store or restaurant or gas station, robbed at gunpoint or carjacked because they were Hispanic.

Analyst Comments

Assistant AG Clarke noted that since January 2021, DOJ have charged more than 150 hate-crime defendants in more than 135 cases, obtaining more than 125 convictions. In addition, the DOJ has have improved reporting, provided training and testimony, investigated and prosecuted criminal acts of hate and educated the public and law enforcement. The establishment of the United Against Hate initiative means every U.S. Attorneys’ Office takes action to build and strengthen ties between communities and law enforcement.

CISA Publishes Venue Guide for Security Considerations

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released the Venue Guide for Security Considerations. CISA is committed to partnering with venue operators in mitigating the threat of targeted violence and preparing for any potential incidents. The guide serves as a broad catalog to support safe and secure day-to day operations and event management planning and execution. Applying the guide will enable venue operators to effectively identify and manage risk.

Analyst Comments

This guide aims to help venue operators enhance safety, protect assets, and create secure environments through effective security measures and best practices. The guide:

• Provides guidance for venues, such as evaluating security measures, complexity levels, costs, options, and threats mitigated by these measures. By balancing these factors, venues can create a secure environment for operators and guests.
• Recommends broadly applicable considerations for evaluating security practices, such as assessing measures and improving physical security compliance to ensure staff and visitor safety.
• Offers actionable guidance for prioritizing the most effective security practices and proactively reducing the risk of major threats.
• Provides venue operators with a tailored menu of security options, allowing them to select the most suitable and effective measures for their venue’s budget, size, location, and risk factors.

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.

FB-ISAO Event Reminder

FB-ISAO 101: Become acquainted with FB-ISAO

Join us for the informational session on Wednesday 21 November 2pm ET. Register Here.

The Faith-Based Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (FB-ISAO) is the only all-hazards and all-faiths security information source for the faith-based community that actively works to build resilience across the entire community of faith. 

During this short session, you’ll learn:

• How we work together to improve the overall security posture of the community.
• What it means to be a part of an all-faiths and all-hazards information sharing community.
• Member benefits.

Why Neo-Nazis marched in Ohio this weekend, and almost every weekend in the U.S.

About a dozen neo-Nazis marched on Saturday through downtown Columbus, Ohio waving swastika flags. The march was just the latest of hundreds of such rallies held across the nation in the past two years. “Almost every single weekend, white supremacists are rallying in some neighborhood,” said Oren Segal, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. The group’s data found 282 such events in 2023. This summer alone, there were 64 white supremacist events across 25 states.

Analyst Comments

These types of marches can be used to intimidate, but can also lead to either direct hostile acts towards houses of worship, or members of faith-based communities being targeted. If you have not already done so, we recommend reviewing our report “Attacks on Houses of Worship: 2023 Year in Review”.

OIDAC Europe Report 2024

In it’s “Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe Report 2024″ the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) identified 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes which were documented by police and civil society in 35 European countries in 2023, including 232 personal attacks on Christians, such as harassment, threats and physical violence.

Analyst Comments

According to OIDAC Europe, countries of particular concern were France, with nearly 1,000 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2023; the United Kingdom, where incidents rose to more than 700; and Germany, which saw a 105% increase in anti-Christian hate crimes, rising from 135 in 2022 to 277 in 2023.

In addition to violent attacks, OIDAC Europe’s report also found discrimination against Christians in the workplace and in public life in some European countries, leading to increasing self-censorship among Christians in Europe.

The past year has also seen a number of restrictions on religious freedom by European governments, ranging from bans on religious processions to the targeting of Christians for the peaceful expression of their religious beliefs.

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.

Event Reminders

Fourth Quarter Virtual Faith-Based Safety and Security Workshop

The Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security and partners cordially invite you to attend the fourth quarterly event of our virtual learning series on Thursday, November 21, 2024. In anticipation of the upcoming holidays, we will focus the last segment of our series on personal safety and security while shopping, both in person and online.  

Register here.

Addressing Entities of Particular Concern: Non-State Actors and Egregious Violations of Religious Freedom

Please join the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for a virtual hearing on the unique challenges that Entities of Particular Concern (EPCs) pose to international religious freedom (IRF) and suggested policies for the U.S. government to implement.  Witnesses will discuss some of the ways that non-state actors—including those currently designated as EPCs—carry out violence and other actions that violate the right to religious freedom. They will also discuss policy options for the U.S. government to address, anticipate, and impede the capacity of current and future EPCs.

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

10:00-11:30 AM ET

Register Here

CISA Live – Making Progress on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience

November 20 CISA Live! – Making Progress on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience. Hosted on LinkedIn, this event will feature CISA’s Executive Assistant Director for Infrastructure Security, Dr. David Mussington, who will share key areas of progress and highlight CISA’s recent initiatives and valuable resources designed to help all Americans Resolve to be Resilient. Bring your questions, since event participants can also participate in a live question & answer session.

Wednesday, November 20 at 11:30 AM ET