Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 28 September 2023

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. Today’s Daily Awareness Post is a combination of updates from 27 September and 28 September 2023. 

Peruvian National Arrested In Peru For Sending Over 150 Hoax Bomb Threats To Schools And Other Institutions In The United States And Soliciting Child Pornography

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of a Complaint charging EDDIE MANUEL NUNEZ SANTOS, a/k/a “Lucas,” with making hoax bomb threats to more than 150 school districts, synagogues, airports, hospitals, and a shopping mall between September 15 and September 21, 2023.

Analyst Comment: Though the news story is significant, the individual named in the FBI arrest does not appear to be responsible for the numerous swatting incidents that have occurred since about the middle of August and continuing.

ADL: Online Hate and Harassment: The American Experience 2023

ADL conducts this nationally representative survey annually to find out how many American adults experience hate or harassment on social media. The 2023 survey was conducted in March and April 2023 and spans the preceding twelve months. Online hate and harassment remain persistent and entrenched problems on social media platforms.

Key Findings:

• 52% of American adults have ever experienced harassment on social media, up from 40% in 2022.
• 33% of adults experienced some form of harassment, up from 23% in 2022.
• 47% of LGBQ+ people, 38% of Black/ African Americans, and 38% of Muslims were harassed online.
• 80% of Jewish people were worried about being harassed for their religion compared to 41% of non-Jews.
• 51% of teens experienced some form of harassment, compared to 36% in 2022.
• 76% of transgender people, the most targeted demographic group, have ever been harassed online, 60% severely.
• Several key platforms saw a rise in harassment: Reddit, Twitter, TikTok, and WhatsApp.

Analyst Comments: The FBI’s recently released 2021 Hate Crime Statistics report found that hate crimes in the U.S.  increased nearly 12% in 2021 compared to the previous year. Racial and religious minorities are the primary groups targeted, with attacks occurring in both the physical and cyber domain.

Historically, violent extremists and other malicious threat actors have conducted hate-based attacks on faith-based organizations (FBOs), events, people, and groups, for a variety of ideological considerations and hate-based grievances. Individuals affiliated with FBOs can reduce the probability of becoming a victim of an attack by remaining vigilant, maintaining awareness of their environment and reporting suspicious behavior that individuals may exhibit. More specific considerations can be found in this CISA resource: Personal Security Considerations Fact Sheet

Those targeted in online harassment should report the incident to law enforcement, document the evidence, and, if necessary, seek protective orders. FBOs and individuals can also report hate crimes to the FBI – with detailed instructions found here.

FBI Tech Tuesday: Protecting Yourself From Fake Barcodes on Gift Cards

Gift cards have become a staple for any special occasion. They are readily available at any store for our shopping ease. Scammers have come up with another way to take money from the gift cards we purchase for family and friends.

Scammers place fake barcodes on the back of real gift card barcodes in the stores. When you purchase the card, the cashier scans the fake barcode at the checkout, which quietly pushes your money into the scammer’s gift card account, leaving you with a zero balance.

Protect yourself by examining the back of the gift card before buying it. Check for signs of tampering. Make sure the gift card’s barcode number, which is visible through the window on the back of the gift card’s packaging, matches the number on the packaging itself. Don’t purchase if the barcode is on a sticker, or if the package is ripped, wrinkled, bent, or looks tampered with.

Analyst Comments: FBOs and individuals affiliated with them are frequently targeted by scammers. It’s important for FBOs and individuals to maintain vigilance for potential fraudulent activity.

CISA Launches National Public Service Announcement Campaign Encouraging Americans to Take Steps to Keep Themselves and Their Families Safe Online

Yesterday, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the launch of “Secure Our World,” a nationwide cybersecurity public awareness campaign to educate all Americans on how to stay safe online. The campaign includes a public service announcement (PSA) that will air on stations around the country, as well as digital content, a toolkit, and other resources. Recognizing that technology is an integral part of our modern lives, Congress tasked CISA with creating this program to provide small businesses, communities, and individuals with the guidance and tools they need to protect themselves online.

The Secure Our World program is focused on four simple steps everyone can take to stay safe online:  

• Strong passwords: Use passwords that are long, random, and unique to each account, and use a password manager to generate them and to save them.  
• Multifactor authentication: Use MFA for all accounts that offer it. We need more than a password to protect our most important data, including email, financial accounts, and social media.   
• Recognize and report phishing: Think before you click! Be cautious of unsolicited emails, texts, or calls asking you for personal information. Resist the urge to click on these links and don’t click on links or open attachments from unknown sources.  
• Update software. Enable automatic updates on software so the latest security patches keep our devices continuously protected.  

Analyst Comments: Individuals and organizations experience cyberattacks and other cybersecurity incidents every day. Indeed, global cyberattacks increased by 38% in 2022 compared to 2021, underscoring the need for every individual and organization to act now to strengthen their cybersecurity and to be prepared for a cyber incident.

Organizations can access free cyber resources at CISA’s Cyber Resource Hub.

As always, FB-ISAO’s website has valuable resources at Resource Library – FB-ISAO (faithbased-isao.org).