Recently the FBSN hosted a forum of 60 church security leaders to discuss technology being used criminally and specifically against churches. That meeting turned out to be the first of continuing discussions among those professionals.

The ways technology is used against churches are common experiences increasing in frequency. It is becoming a world where there are 2 types of active internet users; those who have been scammed and those who will be.

I am among 21 million Americans who recently received a surprise $90 Medicare Premium Rebate from the Social Security Administration. That was legitimate. Now, I (and millions of others) get spam calls claiming that was the first of what should be monthly $200.00 checks. That is a scam. Hang up as soon as you hear it.

If you get any electronic message (email, messenger, text etc) with some sort of urgency or great news to benefit you (from someone you know or not) confirm the origination.

Our churches started talking to each other in that forum and realized many deal with emails from church staff asking for their automated payroll check to be deposited in the employee’s new bank account. Don’t do it until you have spoken face-to-face with that employee to confirm.

Many such emails are “man-in-the-middle” attacks. As the name implies, there is often someone in the middle monitoring electronic communication between the 2 parties. How do they do that? While there are other ways, a common way is electronically capturing your conversations, then positioning themselves in the middle where they control or create fictitious conversations.

They often use “sniffing tools” to capture the information they want. Like cars, guns and social media, sniffing tools are used (in the IT world) in positive ways. I quickly found such services to purchase on-line. Like other things however, it can be (and often is) used nefariously.

Think About it

Security is like the bear attack. Two barefoot men see a bear rushing them. One runs barefoot and the other puts on tennis shoes. The barefoot fellow yells back that those shoes won’t help him outrun the bear. The friend responds, “Don’t have to, just need to outrun you.”

One of the professional IT participants in that forum said, the intentional things you do (using strong passwords, not using public wi-fi or on-line gaming) are more than most do.

Start small, then improve.

NOTICE: The “Think About it” series is a weekly public service from the Faith Based Security Network. If you serve in the capacity of safety or security for a faith based organization in America, please consider becoming a member of the FBSN. Members have many resources like this.

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