Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 29 August 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. 

Map and List of Cities Hosting Nationwide Anti-Trump Protests on Labor Day

There is a nationwide wave of anti-Trump protests scheduled for Labor Day, with a map and listing of cities across the country hosting demonstrations. The Guardian reports that nearly 1,000 “Workers Over Billionaires” rallies including marches and Labor Day parades are planned across all 50 states, featuring events in major cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City, as well as smaller towns. Organized by the ALF-CIO and supported by groups like Public Citizen and MoveOn, the protests oppose the Trump administration’s rollback of labor protecting, ranging from rescinding collective-bargaining rights for federal workers to stripping minimum wage and overtime safeguards from childcare, home care, and disabled workers. With public support for unions at 55%, which is at least 19% higher than trust in either political party, the movement is positioned as a grassroot effort to defend workers’ rights and challenge what activists view as corporate favoritism and authoritarian policy shifts.

Analyst Comments: The coordinated protests represent not only opposition to the Trump administration’s labor policies but also a broader expression of political and social unrest. The nationwide scale, spanning from large areas to small communities’ signals s a significant grassroot mobilization. The scope and distribution of demonstrations could raise potential disruptions, counter-protests, or opportunistic violence. Organizations with operations, employees, or assets in affected areas should remain alert to protest activity and anticipate possible impacts on traffic, public services, or safety conditions.

Cyber Attacks Surge Against Education Sector Ahead of Back-to-School Season

In the first half of 2025, cyberattack activity surged dramatically across the education sector, making it the most targeted industry globally, a threat which has come into more focus as schools prepared for the back-to-school period. From January to July organizations in education faced an average of 4,356 weekly attacks, marking a 41% year-over-year increase, higher than in any other sector. Cybercriminals exploited the heightened digital traffic by registering over 18,000 new school-related domains in July alone, with roughly 1 in 57 of these domains found to be malicious of suspicious. Phishing schemes proliferated, including fake university login pages disguised as Microsoft Outlook and fraudulent payment update documents instructing users to scan QR codes for MFA changes.

Analyst Comments: To counter these threats, institutions are advised to bolster phishing training, enforce multi-factor authentication, monitoring for typo squatted domains, patch vulnerabilities promptly, and deploy advanced threat-prevention systems. Taken together, these layered defenses strengthen resilience in an environment where the education sector remains an attractive and heavily targeted industry for cybercriminals. Members with affiliated schools are encouraged to review CISA’s Cybersecurity for K-12 Education for useful resources.

Peace efforts in limbo as Kyiv mourns 23 dead after Russian attack

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has urgently requested meetings with U.S. President Trump and key European leaders to address the faltering peace process, intensified by a recent and deadly Russian airstrike that killed 23 people in Kyiv and struck a European diplomatic facility. Russia, while continuing aerial assaults, remains obstinate in its stance, delaying meaningful engagement although it claims openness to negotiations. Moscow contends technical groundwork must precede any summit. In response, European defense ministers gathered in Brussels, condemning the attack and pledging for increased support for Ukraine.

Analyst Comments: Russia’s strike on Kyiv signals escalating tensions aimed at testing Western resolve, while Zelenskyy’s outreach to Trump and European leaders shows urgent concerns over stalled peace efforts. Europe’s push for tougher sanctions and possible multinational security measures shows resolve but risks further escalation. The key variable will be how Trump responds, as U.S. policy could significantly shape both the war’s trajectory and broader European security.