Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 11 February 2025

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.

 Singapore detains teenage ‘East Asian supremacist’ for planning attacks on Malays, Muslims 

Nick Lee Xing Qui, an ethnic Chinese Singaporean, was radicalized online and sought to carry out an attack similar to the one in Christchurch-style attack, investigators said. An 18-year-old Singaporean student who identified as an “East Asian supremacist” and was radicalized by violent far-right extremist ideologies has been detained under Singapore’s Internal Security Act. Nick Lee Xing Qui, who is of Chinese ethnicity, had aspired to conduct attacks against Malays and Muslims in Singapore. He believed that the Chinese, Korean and Japanese ethnicities were superior, the Internal Security Department said on Monday. Lee was issued with a detention order in December last year. He is the third Singaporean youth with far-right extremist ideologies to be dealt with under the city state’s Internal Security Act. 

 Analyst comments: 

FB-ISAO recently published a Weekly Report that examined juvenile extremists given some of the recent events around the globe. If you are interested in becoming a member of FB-ISAO, you can learn more here.  

Related articles: 

Singapore detains teen who ‘aspired’ to kill Muslims, mirroring New Zealand mosque attack 

 Ransomware Gangs Increasingly Prioritize Speed and Volume in Attacks

In 2024, advanced evasion tactics became the new norm for ransomware groups, with entities like Lynx, Akira, and RandsomHub becoming more agile. Instead of targeting high-profile organizations, these groups adopted a quantity-over-quality strategy, rapidly hitting a larger number of businesses. According to Huntress’ 2025 Cyber Threat Report, this shift is evident in their speed, with the average time-to-ransom (TTR) being just under 17 hours, but groups like Akria and RansomHub deploying ransomware in as little as six hours. 

Analyst comments: 

FB-ISAO continues to monitor ransomware incidents impacting the faith-based community. ISAO members have access to a daily ransomware report which highlights which ransomware threat actors are targeting the community. Members are encouraged to review the report to understand trends,  

Winter Storm Warning Issued for 11 States as More Snow Forecast

By early Tuesday morning, winter storm warnings were issued for several states, including Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, Ohio, and Nebraska. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), these warnings are issued when a significant mix of hazardous winter weather is either occurring or expected soon. Snowfall was predicted for these regions, with localized snow accumulations potentially reaching up to 10 inches in certain areas, including ridges of central, northwest, and western Virginia, and eastern West Virginia.  

Analyst comments: 

Being #WinterReady means understanding winter risks you face and taking steps now to prepare. Ready.gov offers several resources to help prepare your organization and people for winter weather. 

Related articles: 

NWS:  Winter Storms in the Central and Eastern U.S.; Heavy Rain in the Southeast