The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Assistant Director of Infrastructure Security, Mr. Brian Harrell, has sent a message to the faith-based community, underscoring the importance of working together to mitigate risk and improve security practices.
“The core mission of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is to collaborate with public and private sector stakeholders to develop and disseminate resources that support risk mitigation,” writes Harrell. “In partnership with entities such as the Faith-Based Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO), we provide resources that assist in securing physical and cyber infrastructure. I commend all of you for being members of the Faith-Based ISAO as it demonstrates the importance you place on partnership, information sharing, and risk-mitigation; all of which support achieving the pinnacle of security practices.”
In addition to the letter, CISA wanted to make sure FB-ISAO members are familiar with a valuable new resource, the Securing Soft Targets and Crowded Places Resource Guide. Soft Targets and Crowded Places (ST-CPs) are locations that are easily accessible to large numbers of people and that have limited security or protective measures in place making them vulnerable to attack. DHS has been working for many years to address ST-CP security and preparedness, with recent shifts in the threat landscape calling for renewed departmental focus on leveraging and maximizing its ST-CP security authorities, capabilities, and resources in an integrated and coordinated manner.