Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 4 December 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. 

The Ransomware Holiday Bind: Burnout or Be Vulnerable

The article discusses how ransomware attackers intentionally strike during holidays, weekends, and off-hours times when organizations often have fewer staff monitoring systems and slower response capabilities. Due to security teams being stretched thin around vacations or holidays, threat actors seize the opportunity to launch attacks when detection and response delays are most likely. As a result, the consequences of such attacks can be far worse with longer recovery times, greater potential damage, and higher risk of disruption for businesses.

Analyst Comments: Ransomware groups target predictable weak spots and Houses of Worship (HOW) often have predictable schedules. Offices are typically closed after hours, on weekends, and around major religious holidays, which mirrors the same “low staffing windows” that criminals target in corporate environments. Due to HOWs often having small administrative teams and heavily relying on volunteers, it can be difficult to detect or contain an incident. Measures to protect against potential ransomware attacks over the holidays include:

1. Establishing a simple on-call plan for emergencies.
2. Backing up financial and membership data before major holidays.
3. Using automated alerts on administrative email accounts.
4. Ensuring someone knows how to quickly isolate a compromised device or account.

Some New York lawmakers want to ban protests outside houses of worship after pro-Palestinian demonstration

A handful of New York state lawmakers want to create more space between protests and sensitive locations after a recent pro-Palestinian demonstration outside a Manhattan synagogue. The proposed bill would require people to stay at least 25 feet away from entrances and parking areas of houses of worship and reproductive health clinics. Limiting the access of parking lots or other entrances and driveways. New York is trying to balance the critical constitutional protections of speech and religion but also trying to protect those who may be trying to enter a HOWs or a reproductive health clinic.

Analyst Comments: Buffer zones can be a useful tool in situations where tensions may run high, as they provide a clear, predictable boundary that helps law enforcement manage crowds and ensures everyone understands expectations. Whether mandated or not, organizations hosting events can benefit from coordinating with police ahead of time to establish clear expectations with both protestors and counter-protestors if a buffer zone is used outside their facilities.

Resources: Know Your Rights

Protesters’ Rights

New study shows Jewish groups lagging behind secular community on disability inclusion

A recent report by Matan titled Closing the Inclusion Gap warns that many American Jewish organizations are failing to provide adequate accessibility and support to people with disabilities. Across 15 Jewish communities studied between 2018-2025, roughly 20-25% of respondents identified as having a disability. The study shares that there are Jewish families that have become disenfranchised with the Jewish community due to the lack of access. The study found that fewer than one-third of Jewish schools employ a learning specialist. One reason Jewish organization may lag behind other institutions is that they are not legally mandated to accommodate members of the community in the same way non-Jewish organizations are.

Analyst Comments: The study highlights that many institutions are building accessibility into their infrastructure after the fact, rather than designing spaces, programs, and staffing with inclusion in mind from the start. While well-intentioned, these retrofits can create uneven and temporary accessibility if not supported by trained staff, formal policies, and consistent funding. For security leaders, this is particularly important: retrofitting facilities may require updating security plans and conducting new site walkthroughs, and new accessibility policies could necessitate adjustments to security procedures to ensure both safety and compliance.

Resources: How to practice disability inclusion in your church

How Can People With Disabilities Fully Engage at Your Church?