This DAP highlights – FB-ISAO November Newsletter / 35 dead as driver hits crowd at sports center in southern Chinese city. DAP also has More Faith-Based Stories and Select All-Hazard Stories. 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.
Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 21 February 2024
- cybersecurity, Events, faith, General, Headlines, News, preparedness, resiliency, Resources, security, threat assessment
Faith-Based Security Headlines
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: What We Learned About Ransomware Resilience
This Faith-Based Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (FB-ISAO) blog reports that In 2023, FB-ISAO, along with our information sharing partners, tracked 77 ransomware incidents that have directly or indirectly affected the faith-based and non-profit community. The increase in incidents from the previous year is dramatic.
The blog covers what was learned and presented considerations for building ransomware resilience, including:
- Plan
- Exercise
- Share Information
- Enable Multi-factor Authentication (MFA)
- Patch!
Six things we learned from the LockBit takedown
TechCrunch reported the following that has been learned so far about the LockBit takedown:
- LockBit didn’t delete victims’ data — even if they paid
- Even ransomware gangs fail to patch vulnerabilities
- Ransomware takedowns take a long time
- LockBit has hacked more than 2,000 organizations
- Sanctions targeting a key LockBit member may affect other ransomware
- The British have a sense of humor
Analyst Comments:
The FB-ISAO’s blog above provides essential steps to take to defend against ransomware.
FRC Publishes New Edition of Hostility Against Churches Report Indicating a Doubling of Attacks
Notable findings in this report include, but are not limited to:
- Over the past six years (2018-2023), FRC has identified 915 acts of hostility against U.S. churches. The types of acts identified included vandalism, arson, gun-related incidents, bomb threats, and more.
- In 2023, at least 436 acts of hostility against churches occurred in the United States, more than double the number identified in 2022.
- In 2023, acts of hostility against churches took place in 48 states and the District of Columbia, with more occurring in states with larger populations. California had the most incidents, with 33. Texas had 28 incidents. Hawaii and Wyoming had none.
- Criminal acts of vandalism and destruction of church property may be symptomatic of a collapse in societal reverence and respect for houses of worship and religion.
Analyst Comments:
Today, FEMA Hosts Webinar on Spring Religious Observance Safety and Security . This webinar can provide useful information to defend against hostility aimed at FBOs. This webinar is at 2 pm Eastern, TODAY.
FB-ISAO’s 2023 Threat Data in Review can assist in assessing what threats need to be defended against.
FBO resources can be limited. Federal grants can enable FBOs to improve their security. See the information below on Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) webinars.
Additionally, Faith-Based ISAO’s website provides resources in the Resource Library, including information on Securing Facilities and People and Informing Preparedness Activities.
Nonprofit Security Grant Program Webinar Series info from FEMA Bulletin
FEMA’s Grants Program Directorate invites interested organizations to attend upcoming webinars regarding the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP). The program uses a competitive process to award grants for facility hardening and other security enhancements to nonprofit organizations at high risk of a terrorist or other extremist attack.
The webinars will be held on the following dates and times. Click on a webinar below to register:
- Thursday, Feb. 22, at 3 p.m. ET.
- Thursday, Feb. 29, at 1 p.m. ET.
- Friday, March 8, at 2 p.m. ET.
- Thursday, March 14, at 4 p.m. ET.
- Friday, March 22, at 2 p.m. ET.
All interested organizations are required to register in advance for the webinars. Please note that the webinars will cover the same content and will not be recorded for future viewing.
If you have any questions regarding these webinars or require special accommodations, please contact [email protected].
Analyst Comments:
While there is a current heightened interest in securing houses of worship, Faith-Based Organizations (FBO) should consider long-term security needs. The above webinars will assist FBOs in securing grants to protect their facilities.
Suggestions for a Successful Grant Application
- FBOs should take advantage of all the grantor’s explanatory opportunities, such as the above webinars. The grant application process can be very complex, with very precise requirements. A better understanding of the process will improve a FBO’s chances of being awarded funds.
- Begin work on the grant application as soon as possible, to ensure meeting all deadlines. Most grant processes provide an opportunity to ask questions about the process. Starting the application as soon as possible will allow applicants to ask questions and fine tune their application. Also, most grantors discard late applications, so prompt submission is a must. Though there are changes in requirements from year to year, a good baseline application can be tweaked to meet newer requirements once those are announced.
- FBOs should ensure that their proposed use of the grant money is within the grant’s requirements, even if the applicant has a greater need in an area unrelated to the grant. No matter how worthy an organization’s need is, it will not be funded if it is outside the scope of the grant.
- Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) and register in the System for Award Management at sam.gov; your organization will be assigned a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) once registered. Learn how to get a Unique Entity ID without needing to complete an entity registration on SAM.gov.
- In addition to federal grants, be alert for grant opportunities from private organizations and local and state governments. Each of these entities usually have a grants office which FBOs can regularly monitor. There may also be an opportunity to be emailed alerts on future grants.
More Faith-Based Stories
134-year-old historic church vandalized in Philadelphia’s Society Hill
Fairbanks church vandalized; suspect in custody as investigation continues
Duo arrested after burglary at deserted church in East Texas
RI: Note in church fire suspect’s house read ‘gun everyone down who isn’t white,’ US attorney says
Harvard Academics Under Fire After Anti-Jewish Caricature Surfaces and Harvard Condemns Antisemitic Image Circulated by Student and Faculty Groups
ADL: Murder and Extremism in the United States in 2023
Texas: Roman Catholic priest faces child sexual abuse and trafficking charges
Southern Baptist leaders expel two churches for allegedly mismanaging abuse
Mozambique: Resurgence of jihadist attacks force missionaries to flee
Cyprus: Three in Paphos arrested for robbing churches
WATCH: Australian police arrest Jewish man following assault by pro-Palestinian protesters
English Authorities Probing Antisemitic Incident After Jewish Child’s Birth Certificate Destroyed
The Vatican’s problematic process to address clergy sex abuse cases, explained
Select All-Hazards Stories
Two adults charged with murder in deadly shooting at Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rally
2 extremist groups behind Nashville ‘Nazi’ march, ADL says
‘Kill Biden,’ ‘Long live Hamas,’ among messages spray-painted at Lake Merritt
President Biden to hit Russia with ‘major sanctions’ in response to death of Navalny
CAIR to Join Multifaith Coalition in Final ‘Pilgrimage for Peace’ Rally in DC
Calendar of Resistance for Palestine 2024
Lingering Rain, Snow, and Wind in the West; Critical Fire Weather in the Southwest: National Weather Service
Vulnerability Summary for the Week of February 12, 2024
CISA: Federal Executive Branch Agencies Roles and Responsibilities in United States Elections
Tax records reveal the lucrative world of covid misinformation
More Security-focused Content
The FB-ISAO’s sponsor Gate 15 publishes a free daily newsletter called the SUN. Curated from their open source intelligence collection process, the SUN informs leaders and analysts with the critical news of the day and provides a holistic look at the current global, all-hazards threat environment. Ahead of the daily news cycle, the SUN allows current situational awareness into the topics that will impact your organization. To sign-up for The SUN, please sign up below.
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This DAP highlights – FB-ISAO 101: Become acquainted with FB-ISAO / Reminder – DHS CPR: The Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) Presents: Creating a Culture of Violence Prevention through Civic Engagement. DAP also has More Faith-Based Stories and Select All-Hazard Stories. 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.