October 2025 — What the Louvre Heist, Amazon Outage, and a Detroit Terror Plot Teach Us About Risk

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.

Louvre heist suspects have admitted involvement in jewels theft

From CNN: Two suspects arrested in connection with the theft of France’s crown jewels from the Louvre museum have admitted involvement in the heist and have been remanded in custody, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday. The Paris prosecutor also said the stolen jewels are not in the authorities’ possession. Both suspects were presented before an investigative judge on Wednesday and placed under formal investigation for organized theft and criminal conspiracy, according to Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau. The pair had “partially admitted” their involvement under questioning, she said. The heist – a brazen, seven-minute daylight raid on the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery – captured the world’s attention after thieves escaped with jewels worth tens of millions.

Our take: A seven-minute daylight theft at one of the world’s most famous museums shows that threat actors don’t always need complex tools: just timing, coordination, and a lapse in procedure. The fact that the jewels remain missing underscores a larger truth: recovery is never guaranteed once an incident occurs. Whether it’s priceless artifacts or corporate assets, real security depends on anticipating human behavior, understanding vulnerabilities in processes, and continuously testing response readiness — not assuming reputation or legacy equals protection.

Massive Amazon cloud outage has been resolved after disrupting internet use worldwide

From the AP: Amazon says a massive outage of its cloud computing service has been resolved as of Monday evening, after a problem disrupted internet use around the world, taking down a broad range of online services, including social media, gaming, food delivery, streaming and financial platforms. The all-day disruption and the ensuing exasperation it caused served as the latest reminder that 21st century society is increasingly dependent on just a handful of companies for much of its internet technology, which seems to work reliably until it suddenly breaks down.

Our take: Incidents like this Amazon cloud outage are a stark reminder of how fragile our digital infrastructure really is. We’ve built a global economy on convenience and connectivity, but that convenience comes with a single point of failure. When one provider goes down, entire industries grind to a halt. Organizations need to think beyond uptime and start assessing dependency risk — not just on their own systems, but on the critical vendors that power them. True resilience isn’t about hoping the next outage won’t happen; it’s about preparing for when it inevitably does.

Two men charged in Detroit-area terrorism plot after Halloween arrests

From the AP: Two men were charged with terrorism-related crimes in the Detroit area after federal authorities made arrests and seized a cache of weapons last week in a storage unit and elsewhere, officials said Monday. The men had scouted LGBTQ+ bars in Ferndale, a Detroit suburb, according to a 72-page criminal complaint unsealed in federal court. FBI Director Kash Patel had announced arrests Friday, but no details were released at the time while agents searched a home in Dearborn and a storage unit in nearby Inkster.

Our take: This case is a reminder that targeted violence isn’t always random: it’s often the result of planning, surveillance, and opportunity. The fact that these suspects had scouted specific venues highlights the importance of proactive, intelligence-driven security assessments. Too many organizations still rely on reactive measures, waiting for a threat to materialize before addressing vulnerabilities. Whether you’re managing a bar, a school, or a corporate campus, understanding how potential attackers could exploit your environment is critical. Real safety begins long before an incident — with data, insight, and preparation.

October’s Top Security Grants

Fiscal Year 2024 Flood Mitigation Assistance Swift Current: Fiscal Year 2024 Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Swift Current aims to better align the delivery of FMA flood mitigation funding to the disaster survivor experience. The purpose of FMA Swift Current is to reduce or eliminate the flood risk to NFIP-participating communities and repetitive flood damage to structures and buildings insured by the NFIP following a flood-related disaster event, and to enhance community flood resilience within NFIP-participating communities. It does so by providing funding for mitigation opportunities immediately after a flood disaster event with the aim of delivering mitigation outcomes. Grant closes: Jan 15, 2026

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.