Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 3 April 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.    

A New Agenda for School Safety Research 

“A New Agenda for School Safety Research” by RAND explores challenges and priorities in ensuring safety within U.S. K–12 schools. It discusses the complex, evolving nature of school safety concerns, from serious incidents like school shootings to less visible threats such as cyberbullying and low-level violence. A roundtable hosted by RAND in September 2024 brought together educators, law enforcement, mental health professionals, and researchers to identify research priorities for improving school safety. The paper provides actionable recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders, emphasizing the need for a multifaceted approach to address both traditional and emerging safety issues. 

Related articles: 

• Highlights from the 2024 Eastern West Virginia Safety Summit 
• Rethinking School Safety 

Analyst Comments: It is important to forward-think using this approach to school safety, recognizes both the need for immediate measures and the importance of long-term strategies to prevent incidents and foster a safer, healthier school culture. Best practices include not just creating safety measures but regularly reviewing and updating them. As threats to school safety evolve, so too must the strategies. Schools should consistently evaluate the effectiveness of their safety protocols and be flexible enough to adapt to new challenges. 

National Weather Service: Significant and High Impact Severe Weather Event is Underway 

A powerful spring storm continues across the country with multiple high impacts in the forecast. Life-threatening, catastrophic, and potentially historic flash flood event continues across the Lower Ohio Valley and Mid-South. A couple rounds of significant severe weather expected from the Mid-South through the Ozarks and ArkaLaTex with very large hail and strong tornadoes possible. 

• Related articles: Violent storms, including tornadoes, wallop Midwest and South 
• Deadly Tornado Outbreak, Flooding Leave Path of Destruction From South to Great Lakes 
• Live: At least 4 deaths reported as deadly overnight tornadoes ripped across several states 
• Live updates: Violent storms cut through the South and Midwest, spawning tornadoes and killing 3 

Analyst Comments: Given the severity of the forecast, it is important to stress the importance of early warning systems and public safety messaging. Authorities should issue clear, concise evacuation and safety instructions, especially in areas most at risk for flash flooding and tornadoes. Preparing shelters, coordinating emergency response teams, and ensuring communities have access to reliable communication channels would be key points of focus. This storm system represents a high-risk event with the potential for widespread and catastrophic damage.The combination of flash flooding, severe storms, and tornadoes necessitates comprehensive, multi-agency collaboration to mitigate impact and facilitate recovery. 

As CISA Downsizes, Where Can Enterprises Get Support? 

The downsizing of the CISA and its potential impact on organizations seeking cybersecurity support is due to cost-cutting measures under the Trump administration, CISA has reduced its personnel, which may affect the range of services it offers, such as threat intelligence and incident response. Experts suggest that private sector companies, academic institutions, and state governments could help fill the gaps left by CISA’s downsizing. While the private sector has the expertise to assist in cybersecurity, smaller organizations may struggle to afford these services. Enterprises are advised to strengthen relationships with security vendors and professionals to mitigate risks. 

Analyst Comments: We want to share a LinkedIn post from FB-ISAO Founder and Board President Andy Jabbour related to this article. Andy notes that sometimes reports can shar incorrect information, and nots that “”ISACs are suffering because many smaller members relied on DHS grants to fund their ISAC dues.” Jake, while that applies to state and local entities and the efforts of MS-ISAC to support government entities, that is ***very not correct*** for the *vast majority* of ISACs and their members, where nearly all members *do not* leverage grants for membership. Most ISACs have scaling costs to allow smaller members to join at affordable levels. As Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency may back off some levels of support, now – more than ever – ISACs and orgs like FB-ISAO: The Faith-Based Information Sharing & Analysis Organization are critical communities and resources for their sectors.”  

Singapore foils teen’s plot to kill 100 in Christchurch-inspired mosque attacks 

A 17-year-old in Singapore was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for planning a mass shooting at five mosques. The teen, inspired by the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks, intended to kill at least 100 Muslims during Friday prayers before taking his own life. He had identified specific mosques in areas such as Jurong West, Clementi, and Admiralty Road as targets. Authorities thwarted the attack, preventing a potential tragedy. The teenager’s actions highlight the ongoing threat of terrorism, even from local extremists. 

Analyst Comments: Individuals, like the Singaporean teen, often act in isolation, planning attacks without direct support from organized terrorist groups. This makes such threats harder to detect and prevent, as these individuals are not necessarily involved in traditional extremist networks. Faith-based groups, especially those with visible places of worship, are seen as symbols of vulnerability by extremists seeking to create fear and division. The threat is further compounded by the ease with which extremists can access radicalizing materials online, which empowers them to act independently, often without a clear understanding of the wider consequences of their actions. We have often seen manifestos where attackers have pointed to previous attacks as inspiration, and will sometimes attempt to schedule attacks around anniversaries, so it is important to maintain situational awareness around some of those significant dates of previous attacks. As always FB-ISAO has resources on securing your facilities in the resource library.