NJOHSP: US Homegrown Violent Extremist Incidents in 2022; Register Now for an Atlantic County Hometown Security Seminar; Fake PhishAlarm Installation Emails; Project TERMINUS Stops Transnational Terrorists Before They Reach US Borders

As part of its annual Threat Assessment, analysts from the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness have mapped out 11 homegrown violent extremist incidents in the U.S. in 2022, including five instances involving material support, four plot-related offenses and two successful attacks. The previous year’s assessment included no reports of a successful attack. In 2022, tri-state area authorities arrested five individuals – including two from New Jersey – who committed two attacks, one plot and two instances of material support. Authorities arrested Omar Alkattoul of Sayreville, New Jersey, in November for using social media to share a manifesto containing a threat to attack a synagogue. Alkattoul researched mass shootings and methods to acquire weapons and said he intended to conduct a “shooting attack.” He also blamed the Jewish community for Muslim hatred in the West and pledged allegiance to ISIS, along with its then-recently deceased leader. He threatened to attack a gay club as well. In a second incident in New Jersey, authorities arrested and charged Seema Rahman of Edison, New Jersey, with conspiring to provide material support to ISIS in December. View NJOHSP’s map of Homegrown Violent Extremist Incidents in 2022.

The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness and the New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell, in collaboration with the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Office of School Preparedness & Emergency Planning, are hosting a Hometown Security Seminar, Secure the Shore, to enhance information sharing and build preparedness capabilities with small businesses and community organizations in Atlantic County. Pre-registration is required.

Date: May 31

Time: 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Location: The George L. Hess Elementary School Auditorium, 700 Babcock Road, Mays Landing

Topics include:

• NJOHSP’s 2023 Annual Threat Assessment
• Cybersecurity for Small Businesses
• Houses of Worship Security Program
• Recognizing and Reporting Suspicious Activity
• Office of School Preparedness & Emergency Planning
• Active Shooter Response

The New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell observed a fraudulent PhishAlarm-themed email campaign attempting to harvest credentials and install malware. The messages use the subject line of “IT security check (PHAlarm)” and claim to notify recipients that their organization will be installing an Outlook add-on application called PhishAlarm. The body of the email contains instructions for using the “report a phish” feature and requests that users click an included link to “apply for the security upgrade.” In this example, the link navigates to a malicious website requesting the user’s credentials. If submitted, the threat actors receive the information as a malicious script downloads in the background. The NJCCIC advises against clicking links or opening attachments from unknown senders and urges the public to exercise caution with communications from known senders. Report phishing emails and other malicious cyber activity to the NJCCIC and the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). For more information, visit the NJCCIC’s website.

Interpol Washington’s Project TERMINUS is paying high dividends as the agency and its international partners are seeing successful results in identifying terrorists and criminals attempting to travel using lost or stolen travel documents, according to a media report. A partnership between Interpol Washington and the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, Project TERMINUS provides expert technical assistance to select countries wanting to integrate Interpol’s Stolen and Lost Travel Document database – containing records on more than 96 million travel documents – into their border security systems to better share information that can lead to the interception of transnational criminals and terrorists as they attempt to travel. Interpol Washington is a law enforcement component of the Justice Department. Partner nations receiving help through Project TERMINUS include Nigeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, Panama, Kyrgyzstan and Maldives. An incident occurring in another country “directly affects U.S. border security because we are catching organized crime figures, child pornographers, foreign terrorist fighters in these overseas encounters,” explained Interpol Washington Deputy Director Marc Zimmermann. “They will not be at the southern and northern borders of the United States, and they will not be at any of the interior ports of entry; so, that work that we’re doing overseas directly affects our border security here,” he added.