Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 13 November 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. 

Suspicious letters sent to election offices being investigated by federal law enforcement

CNN reported:

Public officials in California, Georgia, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Washington state have reported receiving suspicious mail. Most of the letters appear to have targeted election offices.

The FBI said it has “responded to multiple incidents involving suspicious letters sent to ballot counting centers in several states” but could not comment further on an ongoing matter.

Officials in Georgia said a letter headed to Fulton County was suspected to contain fentanyl.

Additionally KIRO reported ‘Acts of terrorism’ across Washington as 4 election offices get white powder in mail.

Analyst Comments:

Like the rash of swatting incidents and bomb scares earlier this year, bad actors can be copycats. Also, one bad actor can be a threat to multiple targets. Faith-Based Organizations (FBO) should consider preparing for suspicious packages containing white powder.

While it is difficult to obtain weaponized anthrax, fentanyl is very easy to obtain. Also, ricin is relatively easy to make. Suspicious packages should be taken seriously.

The Daily Awareness Post 06 November 2023 provides information and resources for recognizing and handling suspicious packages.

Additional Resources:

FB-ISAO Slack has additional information from the FBI and US Postal Inspector Service about suspicious white powder packages. Also, members are sharing information on the Israel-Hamas Conflict, as well as information about threats, domestic protests, and security coordination activities in FB-ISAO Slack. Join here.

DHS provides the Ensuring Building Security webpage for federal buildings. While the “Handling Suspicious Mail” section is written for federal employees, it provides good guidance for FBO facilities.

The CDC has the Beware of Snail Mail: 10 Signs of a Suspicious Package blog.

While recent suspicious packages have contained white powders, the threat of explosives must also be considered. The National Explosive Task Force published a pdf titled Suspicious Package Indicators and Recommended Response Procedures.

Gate 15 Announces New IAVM Venue Security Podcast

A new monthly podcast starting in 2024. Venue Security, The IAVM Podcast Series is our newest podcast as Gate 15’s founder and Managing Director, Andy Jabbour hosts short interviews with venue safety and security experts from the International Association of Venue Managers’ (IAVM) Venue Safety and Security Committee (VSSC) and other special guests from the IAVM community.

The audience for the podcasts is commercial facilities and though Faith-Based Organizations are typically not-for-profit, the guidance in the podcast applies to organizations and people. The information in the podcasts may be useful to Faith-Based Organizations.