New DHS Website Offers Research and Grants Information to Counter Domestic Terrorism; Phishing Messages Use Email Spoofing to Impersonate NJ State Office; Justice Department Announces $2.7 Billion in Funding for Victims of Terrorism

In an ongoing effort to combat domestic terrorism and violent extremism in the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security launched a new website March 23 to equip the public with easier access to grants and resources from 17 federal agencies, media outlets reported. DHS developed the one-stop shop website, PreventionResourceFinder.gov, in collaboration with several federal partners, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services. The site’s more than 100 resources feature community support tools, grant funding opportunities and information-sharing platforms to assist communities in reducing the risk of targeted violence and hate-based targeted violence. The site also includes evidence-based research and training opportunities, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s national preparedness online courses and DHS community awareness briefings for users interested in local and national community resources. Officials will routinely update the site with new research opportunities, grants and additional information for community partners, which may include faith-based organizations, behavioral health providers, educators and others. DHS developed the website in response to a report, the National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism in 2021, which called for improved information sharing among federal, state and local governments and law enforcement, the private sector, academia and local communities regarding domestic terrorism-related activities and enhanced domestic terrorism analysis. 

The New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell discovered several emails sent to New Jersey State employees using a spoofed sender email address impersonating the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. In the observed campaign, threat actors appear to send communications from the email address noreply[@]njoag[.]gov; however, the email originated from the hostname slot0[.]bustomshisoa[.]com. The link included in these emails directs the recipient to a pre-populated login page mimicking the legitimate NJOAG website in an attempt to harvest credentials. The NJCCIC advises users to refrain from clicking on links in unexpected emails. Since threat actors may impersonate well-known services and hosting providers, the NJCCIC encourages users to verify a website's legitimacy before entering login credentials and to enable multifactor authentication where possible. More information, including indicators associated with this campaign, is available on the NJCCIC’s website.

On April 10, the Justice Department announced that the government would disburse payments totaling $2.7 billion to 5,361 victims of international terrorism, including certain victims, spouses and children of the 9/11 attacks. These payments will bring the total compensation, paid by the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund to all eligible victims, to more than $6 billion. The Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section administers the program, which Congress established in 2015. To date, the Fund has paid more than $3.3 billion to victims in four rounds of distributions. These latest payments are in addition to the previous distributions. The number of eligible claimants has grown from over 2,000 in 2017 to the present-day total of more than 15,500. Of those, 12,117 claimants are 9/11 victims and family members of victims, while another 3,652 claimants have claims related to other acts of international state-sponsored terrorism. The program is funded by forfeited assets, penalties and fines from civil and criminal matters involving prohibited transactions with state sponsors of terrorism. Since 2015, Congress updated the Fund’s eligibility requirements allowing certain groups impacted by international state-sponsored terrorism, such as 9/11 victims, to receive payments. In 2021, the Government Accountability Office calculated lump-sum catch-up payments totaling $2.7 billion to certain 9/11 victims and their families based on the Fund’s payments to other victims impacted by 9/11.