Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Complete DHS Daily Report for August 28, 2013
Daily Report
Top Stories
• Entergy Corp. announced that the Vermont
Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon, Vermont, will shut down permanently by
the end of 2014, citing costs and market conditions. – Associated Press
2.
August 27, Associated Press –
(Vermont) Vermont Yankee nuke plant to close by end of 2014. Operator
Entergy Corp. announced that the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon
will shut down permanently by the end of 2014, citing costs, low wholesale
energy prices, and market structures. The plant will remain under U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission oversight during its decommissioning process. Source: http://www.wfaa.com/news/business/221310401.html
• Firefighters reached 20 percent containment
of California’s 161,000-acre Rim Fire after the fire spread towards the Hetch
Hetchy Reservoir, threatening hydroelectric generators, which were temporarily
shut down. – CNN
21.
August 27, CNN – (California) Yosemite
wildfire grows, threatens reservoir, power station. Firefighters reached 20
percent containment of California’s 161,000-acre Rim Fire August 26. The fire
spread towards the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and potentially threatens San
Francisco’s hydroelectric generators, which were temporarily shut down. Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/27/us/california-yosemite-wildfire/
• Several school districts around the Midwest
cancelled classes, after-school sports practices, and games, and initiated
early release schedules due to a heat wave. – Associated Press
22.
August 26, Associated Press –
(National) Heat prompts early dismissals in Midwest schools. Several
school districts around the Midwest cancelled classes, after-school sports
practices, and games, and initiated early release schedules due to a heat wave
the week of August 26. Source: http://news.msn.com/us/heat-prompts-early-dismissals-in-midwest-schools
• Researchers spotted a zero-day vulnerability
in Java 6 currently being exploited in the wild, and warned there would be no
patch for the older, unsupported Java version. – Softpedia See item 29 below in the Information Technology Sector
Details
Banking and Finance Sector
5. August 26, Reuters – (Indiana) SEC says
Indiana man used Ponzi scheme to fund a reality TV show. The U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission charged a Noblesville man with running a $6
million Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 37 investors through his Guaranty
Reserves Trust LLC firm. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/26/us-sec-ponzi-realtitytv-idUSBRE97P0WV20130826
6. August 26, New London Day – (Connecticut) NL
woman pleads guilty in credit card scam. A New London woman pleaded guilty
to her role in a fraudulent credit card scheme that allowed her and 10
co-conspirators to steal more than $362,000 from victims’ accounts. Source: http://www.theday.com/article/20130826/NWS01/130829740/1047
7. August 26, Cincinnati Business Courier – (Ohio)
Business partner pleads guilty in investment fraud case. An Auburn
commodities trader pleaded guilty to defrauding investors of $5.2 million
through his firm, TS Capital Management. Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/08/26/tuberville-business-partner-pleads.html
8. August 23, Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel –
(Florida) Man targeted fellow Haitians in $30-million Ponzi scheme,
prosecutors say. Federal prosecutors charged a Georgia man with allegedly
running an affinity scam targeting Haitian Americans in south Florida that
defrauded investors of $30 million. Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-haitian-ponzi-schemer-charges-20130823,0,1571711.story
For another story,
see item 30 below in the Information Technology Sector
Information Technology Sector
29. August
27, Softpedia – (International) Java 6 zero-day spotted in the wild, users
advised to update to Java 7. Researchers at F-Secure spotted a zero-day
vulnerability in Java 6 currently being exploited in the wild. Users are
advised to update to Java 7 as there will be no patch for the
no-longer-supported Java 6. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Java-6-Zero-Day-Spotted-in-the-Wild-Users-Advised-to-Update-to-Java-7-378432.shtml
30. August
27, Softpedia – (International) New DirtJumper variant capable of bypassing
DDOS mitigation systems. Arbor Networks researchers identified a new
variant of the DirtJumper distributed denial of service (DDoS) malware which
includes new features including the ability to bypass some DDoS mitigation
mechanisms. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/New-DirtJumper-Variant-Capable-of-Bypassing-DDOS-Mitigation-Systems-378564.shtml
31. August
27, Softpedia – (International) Chinese cybercriminals leverage G-20 Summit
in espionage campaigns. Researchers at Rapid7 identified recent attacks by
Chinese hacker group the Calc Team (also known as APT-12) using three similar
pieces of malware in spearphishing campaigns using the upcoming G-20 Summit as
bait. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Chinese-Cybercriminals-Leverage-G-20-Summit-in-Espionage-Campaigns-378552.shtml
32. August 27, Softpedia – (International) FBI warns of
“search for missing children” spear phishing emails. The FBI warned users
of a spearphishing campaign using three malicious files in emails and documents
purporting to be from its National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/FBI-Warns-of-Search-for-Missing-Children-Spear-Phishing-Emails-378537.shtml
33. August 26, Threatpost – (International) Phony Adobe
plug-in malware bypasses Craigslist spam controls. Researchers at Solera
Networks discovered a spam campaign on Craigslist that uses malware on
compromised machines to post spam advertisements. Source: http://threatpost.com/phony-adobe-plug-in-malware-bypassess-craigslist-spam-controls
Communications Sector
34.
August 26, Laurinburg Exchange –
(North Carolina) Downtown loses cable services. Time Warner Cable
customers in Scotland County and surrounding areas, lost cable, Internet, and
telephone services for more than five hours after a semi-truck damaged a fiber
optic cable August 26. Source: http://www.laurinburgexchange.com/news/home_top/2399449/Downtown-loses-cable-services