Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 20 May 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. 

Wildfires More Than a West Coast Issue: Church Mutual Highlights Nationwide Risks

With National Wildfire Awareness Month underway, it’s crucial to recognize wildfires are not confined to the West Coast. Recent wildfires in Minnesota, Florida and North Carolina serve as a stark reminder that these destructive events can occur anywhere, impacting communities far beyond traditionally wildfire-prone areas. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, an above-normal fire potential exists this month in areas such as western Minnesota, the Mid-Atlantic and Florida, emphasizing the widespread nature of wildfire risks. So far this year, more than 25,000 wildfires have been reported – surpassing the 10-year average of just over 18,000 wildfires.

Analyst Comments: As we deal with a changing climate, it is important to consider that it may bring new, or more frequent natural disasters. Organizations are encouraged to not just plan for how to respond to such disasters, but to try and actively mitigate against them.

Arctic Wolf 2025 Trends Report Reveals AI is Now the Leading Cybersecurity Concern for Security and IT Leaders

Key findings from the report include:

• AI Surpasses Ransomware as the Top Concern: 29% of security leaders cited AI, LLMs, and privacy issues as their number one concern, surpassing ransomware, malware, and data extortion (21%).
• Breaches are Common and Transparency is Improving: 52% of respondents confirmed a breach in the past year (up from 48%), with 97% of known breaches disclosed. This indicates progress in regulatory compliance and incident transparency.
• Significant Attacks Remain Widespread: 70% of organizations experienced at least one significant cyber-attack in 2024, with malware and business email compromise being the most common.
• Professional Ransomware Negotiators Reduce Payouts: Among those hit by ransomware, 76% paid. Of those, 90% engaged a professional negotiator, which led to reduced payments in more than half of the cases.
• Endpoint Tools Are Widely Deployed but Visibility Lags: While 84% use next-generation endpoint security solutions, only 40% say they have 100% coverage and expect to maintain it.

Analyst Comments:  As organizations integrate AI-powered applications at a rapid pace, they must navigate the unique security risks and governance challenges that come with this advanced technology. FB-ISAO encourages organizations to consider adopting standards for how they will utilize AI.