Twenty-five years after the September 11th attacks, the systems established to prevent terrorism require re-examination and reimagining. The threat environment has become more complex and dynamic, characterized by the collapse of the timeline between radicalization and violence, according to Michael Masters, National Director & CEO of the Secure Community Network (SCN), the official safety and security organization for the Jewish community in North America.

Masters noted that in the post-9/11 era, systems were built for a different, slower, pre-social-media environment. Today, an individual can be exposed to extremist content online, embrace a violent ideology, express intent to harm others, and launch an attack within the same day. This rapid escalation, which once might have taken months, now occurs in weeks or days.

The challenge has shifted from merely connecting disparate pieces of information to identifying which pieces of information are significant within a vast amount of data, swiftly delivering them to the appropriate personnel, and acting before a threat materializes into an attack.

Evolving Threats to the Jewish Community

The American Jewish community has experienced this shift directly. SCN, in its role of monitoring and assessing threats, identified over 850 threats to life in the past year. Each of these was analyzed and referred to law enforcement partners, including the FBI's National Threat Operations Center and state and local fusion centers. The aim is to disrupt potential violence and bring perpetrators to justice. SCN reported that these referrals have often led to investigations, interventions, arrests, and convictions before any harm occurred.

Two examples illustrate the evolving nature of these threats. In Pittsburgh, SCN and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh collaborated with law enforcement to track a White supremacist's months-long campaign of harassment and threats against participants in a synagogue shooting trial. Information provided to the FBI aided in the arrest of Hardy Lloyd, who targeted jurors and witnesses due to their Jewish faith. Lloyd was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in federal prison in December 2023.

In Philadelphia, an individual mailed more than 40 violent letters to over 25 Jewish institutions across multiple states over a 15-month period. The letters, tracked by SCN, included threats such as, "Your lovely museum has so many big open windows, among other things inside. Kristallnacht, anyone? Get ready, this is going to be great fun." SCN tracked this campaign with partner federations and provided coordinated data to federal authorities, leading to the suspect's arrest. The Department of Justice credited SCN's information-sharing in the successful prosecution, which resulted in a 37-month federal prison sentence in March 2026.

A Broader Challenge

Masters emphasized that these incidents, while varying in geography, circumstance, and method, share a common thread: the need to identify actionable information, channel it to the right entities, and act upon it before threats escalate to violence. Attacks are increasingly carried out by single individuals radicalized online rather than by groups meeting clandestinely.

Each threat requires a skilled analyst to assess credibility, understand local context, and rapidly transmit actionable intelligence to local security professionals and law enforcement. In the current environment, minutes and hours can be as critical as days once were.

This challenge extends beyond the Jewish community. Churches, mosques, schools, hospitals, public officials, and other frequently targeted institutions face similar obstacles. Violent extremists no longer fit neatly into ideological boxes, with White supremacists sometimes borrowing from jihadist propaganda and anti-government extremists amplifying antisemitic conspiracy theories. Foreign terrorist organizations can inspire domestic actors they have never met, and homegrown hatred of Jews is on the rise.

Fusion centers remain a vital part of national security infrastructure, but the contemporary threat landscape necessitates an additional layer of trusted public-private partnerships with direct connections to law enforcement. For the Jewish community, this translates to a more proactive approach to protection.

SCN's Regional Threat Capability Initiative exemplifies this proactive model. It continuously monitors the internet for threats, assesses their credibility, and routes them to appropriate law enforcement channels. This approach combines local awareness with national coordination, enabling communities and law enforcement to act swiftly to prevent attacks. Collaboration, both within and beyond the community, is identified as paramount.

Masters concluded that 25 years after 9/11, there are still lessons to be learned, and efforts are underway to implement them.