Secure Community Network

Secure Community Network is a Jewish security organization in North America. It works with hundreds of synagogues to provide safety guidance and threat intelligence. SCN liaises with law enforcement and other organizations to provide best practices for Jewish communal security. SCN is a 501 nonprofit organization.

Description and history

The Secure Community Network, created by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in 2004, is the quasi-official umbrella security agency for the American Jewish community. It has the broadest mandate of any organization that specializes in providing security for Jewish facilities. The SCN replaced the Anti-Defamation League as the principal clearinghouse for Jewish security issues, though the ADL still trains law enforcement in identifying threats.
The aftermath of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting in 2018 included arguably the most ambitious and comprehensive effort, led by JFNA, ever taken to protect Jewish life in the United States, according to the New York Times. In addition to bringing in $100 million in federal grants through the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, JFNA raised $62 million to secure every Jewish community in North America, overseen by the JFNA's SCN. By 2023, 93 Jewish federations had full-time security directors, a more than four-fold increase over the previous 5 years. SCN's staff grew exponentially, from 5 people in a small office in Chicago to a national organization with 75 employees stationed across the United States.
SCN's analysts, many with backgrounds in the military or private intelligence, monitoring the internet and social media for threats to prominent Jews, synagogues, community centers, and schools. The SCN provides assistance to Jewish communities with hiring security directors, provides best practice materials, and gives security advice as needed.
SCN is the Jewish community's primary point of contact with the federal government for homeland security issues, sets national standards, and assists small Jewish communities that lack capacity and resources. Major metropolitan areas with their own resources such as New York City, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Detroit, and Boston formed independent security initiatives like the New York-based Community Security Initiative that report directly to the local Jewish federation and partner with SCN.

Structure

Through its operations center and Duty Desk, SCN provides timely, credible threat and incident information to law enforcement and community partners, serves as the community's formal liaison with federal law enforcement, and coordinates closely with state and local law enforcement partners. SCN works with communities and partners across North America to develop and implement strategic frameworks that enhance the safety and security of the Jewish people, developing best practice policies and procedures, undertaking threat and vulnerability assessments, coordinating training and education, offering consultation on safety and security matters, and providing crisis management support during critical incidents.

Leadership

took over as National Director and CEO of SCN, a position the Jewish Telegraphic Agency calls the "Jewish community's anti-terrorism czar", in December 2017. Masters replaced Paul Goldenberg, SCN's founder. In this role, Masters is an employee of JFNA and works out of the organization's New York office.

Activities

SCN works to help the various synagogues of the United States to work with FBI, state, and local law enforcement partners. SCN also engages with local synagogues and works to enhance security on a variety of levels with synagogues from around the country.

Command Center/JSOCC

In September 2021, SCN unveiled a command center in Chicago to safeguard Jewish communities across the United States dubbed the National Jewish Security Operations Command Center. JSOCC centralizes intelligence analysis and security operations across Jewish organizations, enabling SCN to proactively track threats and coordinate responses with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. Funded by private donors, the JSOCC features a 16-foot video wall for real-time threat monitoring, individual workstations for analysts, and the capacity to seat eight personnel, with overflow space to accommodate additional staff during major incidents. The command center operates 16 hours daily, with the potential to expand to 24/7.
In December 2022, SCN National Director and CEO Michael Masters said "Fundamentally what we're trying to do is create a proactive security shield over the entirety of the Jewish community in North America... The thing about a shield is any chink in that shield is a weakness. So, it needs to be as comprehensive, complex, and formidable in our largest cities as in our most rural communities."
Based in SCN's JSOCC, the organization's Duty Desk leverages Project RAIN, a proprietary technology platform that identifies and tracks threats to more than 12,400 Jewish facilities across North America. SCN is the only faith-based entity with a direct link to the FBI's National Threat Operations Center, a testament to the high quality of the threat tracking provided by their field staff and Duty Desk analysts. Through Project RAIN SCN continuously monitors information from over 1,000 sources, including news, weather, social media, law enforcement, and the deep/dark web to gather intelligence and create situational awareness assessments and alerts relative to these Jewish locations.
SCN is connected to approximately 90% of the Jewish-American community via its deployment of the Everbridge Critical Event Management platform. Numerous threat intelligence feeds are monitored within the CEM platform, which leverages Visual Command Center to view the Everbridge Risk Intelligence Monitoring Center feed. The JSOCC and the Duty Desk leveraged the Everbridge CEM platform during the hostage situation in Colleyville, Texas. Everbridge provided important situational awareness during the critical event and equipped SCN with the tools to issue an eventual "all clear" to its members nationally.

Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP)

SCN offers a range of resources and support services to help Jewish organizations and communities apply for and secure funding through the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program. NSGP grants provide critical funding for security improvements at synagogues, community centers, schools, campus facilities, and other Jewish centers of life across the United States.
To assist in the communities' utilization of this federal program, SCN provides facility assessments, offers consultations on physical security solutions and strategies, conducts webinars, and facilitates grant review and guidance support. Eligible NSGP expenses include equipment such as cameras, locks, and alarm systems; training for staff and community members; and security personnel. In 2023, SCN security professionals conducted 790 comprehensive facility security assessments and informal walkthroughs, enabling hundreds of Jewish organizations to upgrade security measures and obtain over $27.4 million in federal grants.
SCN's NSGP expertise and training programs were acknowledged as instrumentally life-saving during a July 2023 incident at the Margolin Hebrew Academy in which a gunman unsuccessfully attempted to enter the school premises. Both the school and authorities recognized SCN for preparing the school staff with active shooter training and for helping procure the necessary security equipment through NSGP funds, which prevented the would-be shooter's entry into the school building.
SCN secures more NSGP funds for faith-based institutions than any organization in the United States. Communities with SCN-managed programs have realized a 140% increase in their federal funding since SCN involvement. The organizations that SCN has assisted have expanded their NSGP funding from $20.9 million in 2022 to $27.4 million in 2023, while SCN's entire annual operating budget in 2022 was $20.9 million, meaning that for every $1 SCN receives from donors, it delivers $1.43 back to the communities it serves based on this program alone.

Camp security and preparedness

An initiative was launched in 2020 in partnership between SCN and the Foundation for Jewish Camp with the support of UJA-Federation of New York to provide facility assessments and security training for Jewish camps, many of which are located in rural and open areas. In 2022, SCN delivered training for 2,885 staff members at 38 camps, representing 15,000 campers, counselors, and staff. SCN also partnered with the Union for Reform Judaism to provide enhanced security training and consulting services for all 15 URJ summer camps in North America. SCN's Jewish Camp Security Program now formally includes nearly 75 camps.

Standardized Incident Reporting Form

In 2022, SCN partnered with more than 30 Jewish Federations to launch the first nationally standardized incident reporting effort that ties together local security initiatives and SCN as a national partner. The public can use the standardized form on each Federation website to report threats, incidents, and suspicious activity. Reports are sent immediately to local Federation security professionals and the Duty Desk, where they are analyzed and any necessary action is taken to protect the community.

National and international reporting partnerships

SCN has emphasized establishing official coordination channels between major Jewish denominations and community advocacy groups to better streamline incident reporting and security preparedness. In 2021, SCN launched in partnership with Hillel International and the Anti-Defamation League to field incident reports related to colleges and universities.
In January 2024, SCN and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism announced a formal Memorandum of Agreement designating SCN as their official collaborator in safety and security matters. This agreement builds upon SCN's existing partnerships with other major Jewish denominations, including a memorandum of understanding signed with the Union for Reform Judaism in late 2022 and the roll-out of an incident reporting forum with the Orthodox Union.