Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 26 June 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.

FCC Takes Steps to Modernize the Nation’s Alerting Systems

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted new rules to strengthen the security and reliability of the nation’s emergency alerting systems, including the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). To reduce the risk of cyberattacks and unauthorized access, EAS participants will now be required to take three specific actions: use strong passwords, promptly test and install manufacturer-issued security patches, and implement network firewalls or comparable security measures to protect alerting equipment. The action comes amid growing concerns over recent incidents in which attackers exploited vulnerable alerting and broadcast systems to transmit unauthorized messages, highlighting the potential public safety risks posed by compromised emergency communications systems. 

In addition, the FCC issued a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment on additional improvements to modernize emergency alerts. Proposed changes include requiring authentication of all alerts before transmission to prevent spoofing, creating a universal alert identification number to eliminate duplicate alerts, improving the geographic accuracy of WEA messages by removing outdated geotargeting exceptions, and displaying emergency-specific symbols alongside alerts. The FCC also proposes allowing software-based EAS implementations instead of requiring dedicated hardware and eliminating the outdated 90-character limit for WEA messages.

Analyst Comments: The FCC’s efforts to strengthen the cybersecurity and reliability of the nation’s emergency alerting systems are particularly relevant for faith-based organizations, which often serve as trusted community gathering places and emergency assistance hubs during crises. Faith-based organizations should ensure their emergency action plans account for these enhanced alerting capabilities, such as ensuring relevant personnel can receive EAS and WEA alerts and establishing regular monitoring schedules during major incidents or natural disasters.