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 Newsletter
Volume 6, Issue 7
July-2024
Articles in this month’s newsletter include:
The FB-ISAO FireArms in the House Series: What Did We Learn?
FB-ISAO hosted a series of discussions on FireArms in the House. The FB-ISAO takes no position on this topic, other than to promote best practices in pursuit of the house of worship’s objectives and implementation of any appropriate model.
The entire series of discussions is available to all members via the FB-ISAO recordings library. The library is accessible on the FB-ISAO Slack workspace.
The article presents some of the best practices shared by the panelists.
Is Cybersecurity Part of Your Travel Checklist?
Check Point Research (CPR) found 1 in every 33 new summer vacation related domains registered in the month of May was malicious or suspicious. Well-known and trusted websites like Kayak, Booking.com, hotels.com, and other hospitality-related brands are being impersonated to trick users into entering their login credentials, potentially leading to personal information theft.
The article presents some quick tips to stay safe.
The newsletter also Spotlights:
Transnational Repression
The Faith-Based Security Advisory Council | Homeland Security (FBSAC) met on 24 June to deliver reports on the three taskings issued by Secretary Mayorkas back in January. Mayya Saab, Executive Director of the FB-ISAO, serves on the FBSAC and was a member of the subcommittee making recommendations on Countering Transnational Repression (TNR).
The article includes a link to the FBI Threat Intimidation Guide, which provides additional information about types of threats and what to do if you’ve been threatened.
The FB-ISAO Cyber and Physical Threat Levels remain Elevated.
The newsletter also covers the FB-ISAO Advisory Board, how to join FB-ISAO, FB-ISAO Slack, and a link for upcoming FB-ISAO events.
The July-2024 2024 Newsletter has been directly distributed to members and may be accessed here.
Want this newsletter delivered directly to your inbox each month? Membership in FB-ISAO is open to all Faith-Based Organizations including Houses of Worship, Charities, Faith-Based Schools and their affiliated organizations. Join FB-ISAO!
FB-ISAO Threat Assessment Statement: Threat Levels Remain at Elevated – July 2024
FB-ISAO anticipates releasing a deliberate updated Threat Assessment in September 2024. In the interim, the Cyber Threat Intelligence, Operational Resilience (together, the Threat and Incident Response) working groups continue to actively monitor and share information, reports, and perspective regarding our threat environment. At this time, we have determined to maintain the Threat Assessment shared in March and we have determined to maintain both the Physical and Cyber Threat Levels at “ELEVATED.”
- The Physical Threat Level is “ELEVATED.” ELEVATED means that FB-ISAO is unaware of any specific threats, but there is concern that an event is more likely than normal. We are also closely monitoring events and are considering an escalation to “SEVERE,” meaning that an event is highly likely, but decided to not escalate to that level at this time.
- The Cyber Threat Level is “ELEVATED.” ELEVATED means that FB-ISAO is unaware of any specific threats, but there is concern that an event is more likely than normal.
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More Faith-Based Storie
CA: Man with baseball bat vandalizes church, businesses in San Fernando Valley
KY: NKY church fire leads to 2 firefighters being arrested: Court docs
CA: Video shows man smash windows of several Canoga Park businesses, church
‘Goyim Defense League’ (GDL) Harasses Texas Residential Area with Anti-Jewish Leaflets
Antisemitic Organization Calls for Rioting at Michigan Holocaust Museum
Meta: Update from the Policy Forum on our approach to ‘Zionist’ as a proxy for hate speech
Texas pastor fined $3,500 over donations from churches to his city council campaign
TX: Choir teacher faces deportation to Mexico over 300 child porn videos
The Ethics of AI: How Far Is Too Far?
South Africa: Attempted bombing at Durban mosque a suspected ‘act of terror’
Chinese man arrested after Japanese shrine vandalised
Amsterdam statue of Anne Frank defaced ‘for Gaza’
Pope, Ukraine Church leader condemns children’s hospital attack in Kyiv
Select All-Hazards Stories
Intelligence on Russian sabotage threat prompted increase in security at US military bases in Europe
U.S. director of national intelligence says Iran is influencing and funding Gaza war protests
Manhunt underway in London for suspected crossbow killer
Black man dies, crying for help, after hotel guards pin him down, video shows
UK: Man arrested on suspicion of terror offences
The Boycott Against Israel Is Spreading Into New Corners of Society
Beryl Remnants Moving to the Ohio Valley and Northeast U.S.; Dangerous Heat for the Western U.S. and Portions of the East National Weather Service
NOAA: Assessing the U.S. Climate in June 2024
Bird flu response in Michigan sparks COVID-era worry on farms
How Disinformation From a Russian AI Spam Farm Ended up on Top of Google Search Results
DHS: Feature Article: The Question of Who You Are (digital credentials)
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.
