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25 Years After 9/11, Security Experts Call for New Model to Counter Faster Threats
Re25 Years After 9/11, Security Experts Call for New Model to Counter Faster Threats
A security expert argues that the post-9/11 intelligence-sharing model is outdated for today's fast-moving, online radicalization threats, citing successful interventions by the Secure Community Network.
The intelligence-sharing systems built after the September 11 attacks are no longer sufficient to prevent a threat environment that has become faster and more complex, according to a new analysis from the head of a major community security organization. The argument centers on the collapse of the timeline between radicalization and violence, where individuals can move from consuming extremist content online to launching an attack within a single day.
The 9/11 Commission famously found that intelligence and law enforcement agencies had gathered enough signals to potentially disrupt the plot but failed to connect the dots due to poor information-sharing and siloed data. That failure cost nearly 3,000 American lives and led to the deaths or injuries of over 60,000 U.S. servicemembers in subsequent wars. In response, the government built the Department of Homeland Security, expanded Joint Terrorism Task Forces, and established fusion centers to improve collaboration across federal, state, and local agencies.
Twenty-five years later, those systems were built for a slower, pre-social-media era, according to the analysis. The threat environment is now more dynamic, with organizations able to act across borders virtually and individuals radicalizing in hours rather than months. The challenge is no longer simply connecting dots, but identifying which dots matter in a sea of information, getting them to the right people quickly, and acting before a threat becomes an attack.
Few communities have experienced this shift more directly than the American Jewish community, according to the Secure Community Network (SCN), the official safety and security organization for Jewish communities in North America. SCN reports that threats have evolved from slow-moving, carefully planned conspiracies into a constant stream of online threats and individuals moving rapidly from rhetoric to action. Last year alone, SCN identified over 850 threats to life, each analyzed and referred to the FBI's National Threat Operations Center, state and local fusion centers, and other law enforcement partners.
The organization points to specific cases where its information-sharing led to arrests. In Pittsburgh, SCN worked with law enforcement to track a months-long campaign of harassment by a White supremacist targeting participants in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial. Information shared with the FBI helped lead to the arrest of Hardy Lloyd, who admitted to targeting jurors and government witnesses because of their Jewish religion. Lloyd was sentenced to six and a half years in federal prison in December 2023.
In another case, an individual in Philadelphia conducted a 15-month campaign of mailing more than 40 violent letters to over 25 Jewish institutions across multiple states. One letter referenced Kristallnacht and threatened a museum. SCN tracked the campaign and provided coordinated data to federal authorities, leading to the suspect's arrest. The Department of Justice credited SCN's information-sharing in the prosecution, which resulted in a 37-month federal prison sentence in March 2026.
The analysis argues that modern attacks are less likely to involve multiple people meeting clandestinely and more likely to involve single individuals who live online. Each threat requires a sharp, trained analyst to assess credibility, understand local context, and move actionable information to local security professionals and law enforcement. In today's environment, minutes and hours can matter as much as days once did.
This challenge extends beyond the Jewish community. Churches, mosques, schools, hospitals, public officials, and other frequently targeted institutions face similar threats. Violent extremists no longer fit neatly into ideological categories, with White supremacists borrowing from jihadist propaganda and anti-government extremists adopting tactics from other movements. The call is for a new model that matches the speed and complexity of the current threat landscape.
