Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 14 April 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.

Antisemitic attacks in 2025 led to highest level on record

A new report from Tel Aviv University found that 2025 saw the highest level of deadly antisemitic violence in over 30 years, with 20 people killed globally. The surge in violence is part of a broader rise in antisemitic incidents that began after the October 7. 2023 attacks by Hamas and the subsequent war in Gaza. Major attacks occurred across three continents in 2025, including the Bondi Beach attack in Australia and additional attacks in the United States and United Kingdom. While the total number of incidents increased only moderately from 2024 to 2025, the figures remain significantly higher than pre-2023 levels, with sharp rises reported in countries like the U.K., Canada, and Australia. The report also highlighted a continued increase in physical assaults, noting that many attacks were carried out by lone individuals, making prevention more difficult. Researchers warned that antisemitic violence risks becoming a “normalized reality,” even after a Gaza ceasefire, with perpetrators often linked to extremist ideologies or personal instability.

Analyst Comments: The findings from Tel Aviv University underscore a sustained and concerning shift in the threat landscape facing Jewish communities globally. The persistence of antisemitic violence following the Gaza War indicates that geopolitical events are continuing to act as catalysts for localized violence, including the 2026 Iran War. Particularly notable is the prevalence of lone-actor attacks, which are inherently more difficult to detect and disrupt, increasing risk for soft targets such as synagogues, community centers, and public gatherings.

For security practitioners within faith-based communities, this reporting reinforces the need for layered security approaches that combine physical measures, community awareness, and information sharing. The data also highlights that threat actors are ideologically diverse, spanning both far right and Islamist extremism, meaning mitigation strategies cannot focus on a single threat vector. Overall, the normalization of elevated incident levels suggests organizations should plan for a sustained high-threat environment rather than viewing current conditions as temporary.

WhatsApp Usage Guidelines for Church Employees: Best Practices & Security

Archyde has published an article describing structured guidelines introduced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for employees using WhatsApp as a supplemental communication tool. The article emphasizes that, while WhatsApp offers strong end-to-end encryption through the Signal Protocol, it is not inherently secure for enterprise use. The key risk lies in endpoint vulnerabilities; if a device is compromised (e.g., via spyware), encrypted messages can still be accessed. To mitigate this, the Church promotes strict security practices such as two-step verification, disappearing messages, biometric app locks, and enabling encrypted backups. The guidance also reflects a broader challenge of managing “shadow IT,” where employees rely on convenient consumer apps instead of official tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack. While WhatsApp’s accessibility makes it practical, its metadata collection by Meta presents additional privacy concerns. Ultimately, the Church’s approach is a risk-mitigation strategy acknowledging that while WhatsApp is not the most secure option compared to alternatives like Signal, proper user discipline and security configurations can significantly reduce the likelihood of compromise in a high-risk, decentralized environment.

Analyst Comments: The approach by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reflects a practical shift toward managing risk when using tools like WhatsApp. By focusing on endpoint security and user behavior, rather than just encryption via the Signal Protocol, the guidance addresses the most common real-world threats, such as device compromise and credential theft. However, metadata exposure to Meta remains a concern, particularly for higher-risk users. Members are encouraged to review the ideas within this policy for their own organization.