There’s a lot going on in the world of physical risk and vulnerability; it’s nearly impossible to keep up with the latest news and developments. We’ll keep you informed with the best content to keep your organization safe and secure. Check out the top news and headlines from the past month.

White supremacist planned to blow up electricity station using drone laden with explosives

From NBC: White supremacist Skyler Philippi, 24, of Columbia, Tennessee, was arrested after an FBI investigation found that he planned to attach a bomb to a drone and fly it into the energy facility in Nashville as part of his extremist agenda, authorities said.

Our take: I often point out that new technology is a tool that can be used for both good and bad. This is an excellent example of how drones can be used in a violent attack, and it’s also a strong example of why our aging infrastructure needs to be updated and protected. If Philippi had succeeded, he might have taken down part of the area’s power grid.

Trump officials texted attack plans to a group chat in a secure app that included a journalist

From the AP: Top national security officials for President Donald Trump, including his defense secretary, texted plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, the magazine reported in a story posted online Monday. The National Security Council said the text chain “appears to be authentic.”

Our take: This is a reminder to everyone that when proprietary and sensitive information is being discussed, your people need to adhere to the proper channels. This is a high-profile breach, but this sort of leak can happen to any organization. In fact, it happens a lot in private business. Reinforce your policies and procedures to make sure these types of incidents don’t happen. Lets learn from other people's mistakes.

Violent attacks on Tesla dealerships spike as Musk takes prominent role in Trump White House

From the AP: Attacks on property carrying the logo of Elon Musk’s electric-car company are cropping up across the U.S. and overseas. While no injuries have been reported, Tesla showrooms, vehicle lots, charging stations and privately owned cars have been targeted.

Our take: Ok, so first off, no matter how you feel about the political situation, you should not be setting people’s cars on fire. Secondly — and more importantly — when vandalism and protests start, things can get dangerous fast. Not just for the object of the protest, but for everyone. Mobs can change direction in a moment, and that puts everyone at risk. This means that businesses near a protest need to be aware, and take precautions. Even if your location is not the original target of a protest, your site may experience vandalism or violence.

ISC West is coming up

From ISC West: From March 31 to April 4, the International Security Conference & Exposition – also known as ISC West – is taking place in Las Vegas. ISC West is the leading comprehensive and converged security trade event in the U.S drawing thousands of security and public safety professionals.

Our take: Circadian Risk is thrilled to be at ISC West this year. We will be at the RAD/AITX booth, #21131. We’d love to meet with you; reach out and book a meeting with us.

March’s Top Security Grants

Fiscal Year 2024 Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA): The Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program makes federal funds available to states, U.S. territories, federally recognized tribal governments, and local communities to reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings and structures insured under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). It does so with a recognition of the growing flood hazards associated with climate change1, and of the need for flood hazard risk mitigation activities that promote climate adaptation and resilience with respect to flooding. These include both acute extreme weather events and chronic stressors which have been observed and are expected to increase in the future. Grant closes: April 18

Fiscal Year 2024 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC): The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program makes federal funds available to states, U.S territories, federally recognized tribal governments, and local communities for hazard mitigation activities. It does so with a recognition of the growing hazards associated with climate change1, and of the need for natural hazard risk mitigation activities that promote climate adaptation and resilience with respect to those hazards. These include both acute extreme weather events and chronic stressors which have been observed and are expected to increase in the future. Grant closes: April 18

Fiscal Year 2025 Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation Revolving Loan Fund Program: The objective of the Safeguarding Tomorrow RLF program is to capitalize or recapitalize entity-established revolving loan funds that will provide low-interest loans to local governments most in need of financing assistance to complete hazard mitigation projects and activities. The program aims to reduce risks from natural hazards for homeowners, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and communities in order to decrease the loss of life and property, the cost of insurance, and federal disaster payments. Grant closes: September 30

Systems-Based Approaches to Improve Patient Safety by Improving Healthcare Worker Safety and Well-Being: The purpose of this grant is to advance system-level approaches to improve patient safety by improving healthcare worker safety and well-being. Patient safety cannot be fully achieved without healthcare worker safety and well-being. This NOFO will contribute to AHRQs goal of reinvigorating the patient safety movement by adding fresh perspectives and insights of healthcare professionals to efforts to improve patient safety. Grant closes: 2029

About the Author

Daniel Young

Founder & Chief Innovation Officer

Daniel has been a security and risk advisor for more than 10 years, and is passionate about helping companies to better understand their risks to undesirable events on a daily basis. Dan previously served as the Regional Bioterrorism Coordinator for District 1 in Michigan, where he was instrumental in preparing communities for catastrophic incidents. He has also acted as the Private Security Liaison for the City of Lansing’s Critical Infrastructure Team, which identified and documented deficiencies in the city’s critical infrastructure.

He is a Co-Founder of the CSO Risk Council, a think tank of seasoned security professionals and thought leaders with extensive experience in managing the physical security and risks of large enterprises consisting of multiple sites and whose mission is to create a better process to develop and share innovative solutions and pertinent information with organizations to improve safety and security risk by providing a forum to discuss best practices and recommendations for specific risk scenarios and to network with other enterprise security professionals.