HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Daily Report
Top Stories
• Swiss-based oil services company Weatherford
International Ltd., agreed to pay over $252 million to settle U.S. allegations
that it bribed officials in several countries and violated sanctions. – Bloomberg
News
1.
November 26, Bloomberg News –
(International) Weatherford International settles foreign bribery probes. The
Swiss-based oil services company, Weatherford International Ltd., agreed to pay
over $252 million to settle U.S. allegations that it bribed officials in
several countries and violated sanctions by authorizing bribes intended for
foreign officials from 2002 to July 2011 in order to obtain or retain business
or for other benefits. Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-26/weatherford-international-settles-u-s-foreign-bribery-probes.html
• Ford initiated a recall of almost 140,000
model year 2013 Escape vehicles equipped with 1.6 liter engines that may
experience engine fires. – Detroit News
3.
November 26, Detroit News – (National)
Ford recalling 2013 Escape SUVs for fire risks. Ford initiated a recall
of almost 140,000 model year 2013 Escape vehicles equipped with 1.6 liter
engines that may experience engine fires caused by engine cylinder head
overheating, which can lead to cracking and oil leaks. Among the recalled
vehicles, 9,469 are part of a second recall to fix a fuel leak issue that could
also result in engine compartment fires. Source: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131126/AUTO0102/311260052/Ford-recalling-140-000-13-Escape-SUVs-fire-risks
• A broken water main caused 8,000 residents
and 2,000 businesses in Cayce, South Carolina, to be without water for several
hours and forced the closure of 10 Cayce and West Columbia schools. – Columbia
The State
18.
November 25, Columbia The State –
(South Carolina) Water restored in Cayce following 17-hour power outage. A
16-inch water main broke November 25 due to freezing old pipes and caused 8,000
residents and 2,000 businesses in Cayce to be without water for several hours
while forcing the closure of 10 Cayce and West Columbia schools. Service
workers restored the water and issued a 24-hour boil water advisory. Source: http://www.thestate.com/2013/11/25/3121520/water-break-thousands-of-students.html
• Researchers identified a trojan called Shez
that disguises itself as an AutoCAD component in order to allow attackers to
steal files and plant additional malware at a later date. – Help Net
Security See
item 29 below in the Information Technology Sector
Details
Financial Services Sector
4. November 26, Softpedia – (International) Experts
warn of new banking trojan Neverquest. Security researchers have observed
thousands of attempts to infect computers using the Neverquest banking trojan,
a relatively new trojan that injects a phishing page into sessions when users
attempt to access banking Web sites. The trojan has integrated self-replication
mechanisms and is distributed via trojan downloaders. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Experts-Warn-of-New-Banking-Trojan-Neverquest-403685.shtml
5. November 26, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission –
(Texas) SEC announces charges against two Houston-based firms for engaging
in thousands of undisclosed principal transactions. The U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission announced November 26 charges alleging that Houston-based
Parallax Investments LLC, Tri-Star Advisors, and three of their executives
engaged in thousands of principal transactions through their affiliated
brokerage firm without informing their clients, collectively making more than
$2 million on the trades. Source: http://www.sec.gov/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370540414827
6. November 25, Newark Star-Ledger – (Florida; New
Jersey) Feds charge ex-Monmouth County man with running $18m Ponzi scheme. A
Miami man was arrested and charged by federal authorities with allegedly
running an $18 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded 28 investors by claiming to
invest their funds through his company, Fair Haven, New Jersey-based LJS
Trading. Source: http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2013/11/feds_charge_ex-monmouth_county.html
For additional
stories, see items 1 above in Top Stories and 11 below:
11. November 25, New Hyde Park Patch – (New York) DA:
More charges for accused LIRR scammers. The Nassau County District Attorney
announced upgraded charges against four Romanian nationals arrested and charged
with allegedly installing skimming devices on Long Island Railroad ticket
machines. A fifth suspect was also charged in the alleged scheme, though he
recently fled to the U.K. following the arrests of the other suspects. Source: http://newhydepark.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/da-more-charges-for-accused-lirr-scammers
Information Technology Sector
28. November
26, Softpedia – (International) Atrax: Cybercrime kit capable of stealing
data, launching DDoS, mining for Bitcoins. Security researchers at CSIS
identified a new malware kit called Atrax being sold for $250 on underweb forums.
Atrax uses The Onion Router (TOR) protocol to hide its communications and comes
with several add-ons that allow it to steal data from forms and browsers,
launch distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, and mine for Bitcoins and
Litecoins. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Atrax-Cybercrime-Kit-Capable-of-Stealing-Data-Launching-DDOS-Mining-for-Bitcoins-403632.shtml
29. November
26, Help Net Security – (International) AutoCAD malware paves
the way for future attacks. TrendMicro researchers identified a trojan
called Shez that disguises itself as an AutoCAD component in order to create a
user account with administrative rights, allowing attackers to steal files and
plant additional malware in the future. The trojan is either dropped by other
malware or can be downloaded unknowingly from malicious sites. Source: http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=2635
30. November
26, Softpedia – (International) Experts warn of an increase in the usage of
Blackshades RAT. Symantec researchers found that the Blackshades remote
access trojan (RAT) has increased in use over the past 5 months. The
researchers also found a link between Blackshades and the Cool Exploit Kit,
where the latter is used to drop the former as well as other pieces of malware.
Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Experts-Warn-of-an-Increase-in-the-Usage-of-Blackshades-RAT-403525.shtml
31. November
26, Threatpost – (International) Blackhole and Cool Exploit Kit nearly
extinct. A security researcher monitoring the sale and use of exploit kits
found that the use of Blackhole and Cool exploit kits have decreased
significantly in the 6 weeks since their alleged creator was arrested. However,
the Reveton gang malware group continues to use a custom version of Cool for
the distribution of ransomware. Source: http://threatpost.com/blackhole-and-cool-exploit-kits-nearly-extinct
Communications Sector
32.
November 25, Reuters – (National) New
agreement gets Pentagon closer to clearing airwaves for sale. The U.S.
Department of Defense reached an agreement with broadcasting industry officials
to share some radio airwaves used for military systems in order to allow them
to be auctioned off for use by the private sector. Source: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/131125/new-agreement-gets-pentagon-closer-clearing-airwaves-sale
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