Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 12 March 2026

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.

Iran appears to have conducted significant cyberattack on US company, officials say

U.S. officials and cybersecurity experts are investigating a significant cyberattack targeting the U.S.-based medical device company Stryker that has been linked to an Iranian-affiliated hacking group known as Handala. The attack reportedly disrupted the company’s global network and disabled thousands of employee devices, forcing workers to disconnect from corporate systems while the company worked to contain the incident. Although there were no indications of ransomware or malware, the disruption affected internal communications and operational systems across the organization, which employs roughly 56,000 people worldwide. The hackers claimed responsibility on messaging platforms, stating that the attack was carried out in retaliation for recent U.S.–Israeli military strikes in Iran. U.S. officials have said they are monitoring the situation closely as investigators work to determine the full scope of the intrusion and whether data was stolen during the incident.

Analyst Comments: If confirmed, this cyberattack may be the first successful hack on a U.S. organization because of the current conflict in Iran. Incidents like this are consistent with previous patterns of Iranian-linked cyber activity, which frequently involves affiliated “hacktivist” groups conducting disruptive attacks against government, corporate, or symbolic targets. These attacks focus on disruption, data theft, or public messaging intended to demonstrate capability, though cyberattacks with physical impacts are a low-probability possibility as well. From a faith-based community perspective, organizations themselves are unlikely to be direct targets of this type of cyber activity; however, disruptions affecting lifeline critical infrastructure sectors such as healthcare, utilities, or technology providers that faith-based organizations rely on could create downstream impacts or nuisance disruptions that affect services, communications, or community operations during periods of heightened geopolitical tension.

NY: Priest makes plea after Mother Mary statue stolen from Rochester church

Recent incidents in two U.S. cities involved the theft of religious statues from Catholic churches, raising concern among local congregations. In Rochester, New York, a statue of the Virgin Mary was stolen from a grotto on the grounds of Holy Cross Church, a site with historical and spiritual significance that was originally built by World War II veterans as a place of prayer and remembrance. Church officials discovered the statue missing after Mass and reported the incident to police, while the pastor publicly asked for its return and stated the church would accept it back “no questions asked.”

Meanwhile, in Denver, Colorado, police are searching for a suspect accused of stealing two historic statues depicting Saint Rita and Saint Paul from outside Holy Ghost Catholic Church. Surveillance footage reportedly shows the suspect using tools to remove the statues, which had been part of the church property for decades and hold significant historical and sentimental value for the parish community. Authorities in both cases are continuing investigations and asking the public for information about the thefts.

Analyst Comments: While events like this are frequently isolated acts ranging from opportunistic theft to vandalism, they can still contribute to broader perceptions of hostility toward religious institutions or faith communities. Faith-based organizations can take practical steps beyond situational awareness, as incidents like these highlight the value of basic protective measures such as improved lighting, security cameras, and other anti-theft precautions around exterior areas to help deter theft or vandalism of religious objects and property.