NJOHSP Seeks Community Survey Participants; Register Now for FEMA, NJOHSP EOP Workshops; Beware of Compliance Training Phishing Emails; Chinese Nationals Charged With Operating a Secret Police Station in New York

The Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 2 and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness are offering an Emergency Operations Planning Workshop for Houses of Worship personnel in Hunterdon and Warren counties in May. The workshops will assist with the development and improvement of emergency operations plans. The three-hour training program features an overview of the “FEMA Guide to Developing High Quality Emergency Operations Plans for Houses of Worship” and provides participants the opportunity to share lessons learned.

Topics include:

• Building a Planning Team
• Identifying Threats and Hazards
• Developing Objectives and Courses of Action
• Sharing Lessons Learned and Best Practices
• Available Resources from FEMA, DHS’s CISA and NJOHSP

The details for the Hunterdon County and Warren County workshops are as follows:

• May 3, 2023, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. 
  
  
  • Immaculate Conception Church, 316 Allerton Road, Annandale, NJ 08801.
  • To register, visit HunterdonEOPWorkshop.eventbrite.com.
    
    

• May 31, 2023, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. 
  
  
  • St. Joseph Church, 200 Carlton Avenue, Washington, NJ 07882.
  • To register, visit WarrenEOPWorkshop.eventbrite.com.

NJOHSP encourages Houses of Worship safety, security and emergency planning committee members, including religious leaders, teachers, administrators, security guards, ushers, greeters and other volunteers, regardless of religious denomination, to attend.

Threat actors are targeting the education sector in a spearphishing campaign masquerading as New Jersey State Compliance training emails. The New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell is reporting that threat actors sent fraudulent training compliance notifications in a message to a compromised email account of a school district employee. The body of the email contained the signature block, “The office of Equal Opportunity and Access and Ethics Office,” which is the incorrect New Jersey division title for the “Office of Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action.” The message uses typical verbiage to appear legitimate and create a sense of urgency, including claims that failure to complete the training within 24 hours may result in administrative fines and disciplinary action. NJCCIC urges users to verify unusual requests to complete training with their organization’s compliance officer or Human Resources representative and to remain cautious, even if messages claim to come from legitimate sources. Visit NJCCIC’s website for more information, including additional indicators associated with this campaign.

U.S. federal agents arrested two Chinese nationals April 17 for allegedly operating a Chinese secret police station in Manhattan, New York, to harass and pressure dissidents to return to China, according to media reports. Lu Jianwang, 61, of the Bronx, New York, and Chen Jinping, 59, of Manhattan, New York, face charges of conspiring to act as agents of the People’s Republic of China and obstruction of justice. Federal prosecutors said the secret facility, located in an office building in Chinatown, closed last fall after its operators became aware of an FBI investigation. During an ensuing raid, authorities seized cellphones belonging to Jianwang and Jinping and found evidence that the two men deleted communications with a Ministry of Public Security official, an allegation to which they later admitted. Prosecutors said Jianwang helped establish the police station and received communications from the Chinese government to locate, then persuade an individual, who China considered a fugitive, to return home. FBI Director Christopher Wray told a U.S. Senate committee in November that he was very concerned about the presence of such stations in U.S. cities. The Department of Justice has been increasing probes into what it calls “transnational repression” by China and Iran, operations aimed at intimidating political opponents living in the U.S.