Tuesday, September 3, 2013



  
Complete DHS Daily Report for September 3, 2013

Daily Report

Top Stories

 • A man was found guilty in a fraud scheme after he unveiled plans to place 18 wind turbines in Jonestown, Texas, in 2011, worked with an accomplice to fraudulently obtain nearly $2 million in grants, and only completed 2 turbines. – KXAN 21 Austin

3. August 29, KXAN 21 Austin – (Texas) Man guilty in Jonestown wind turbine fraud.A man was found guilty after he unveiled plans to place 18 turbines in Jonestown in 2011 and only completed 2, with one of them breaking down. The man and an accomplice from the State Comptroller’s Office were accused of working together to fraudulently secure nearly $2 million in grants from the Department of Energy. Source: http://www.kxan.com/news/man-guilty-in-jnestown-wind-turbine-fraud

 • The suspect known as the "Ball Cap Bandit" was indicted on 9 additional bank robbery charges, and is in total accused of robbing 11 Alabama banks. – WAFF 48 Huntsville/Decatur See item 9 below in the Banking and Financial Sector

 • Crews reached 32 percent containment of California’s Rim Fire after it burned through 201,894 acres by August 30. – Modesto Bee

25. August 30, Modesto Bee – (California) Rim fire reaches 200K acres; fifth biggest in state’s history. Crews reached 32 percent containment of California’s Rim Fire after it burned through 201,894 acres by August 30. Some road closures remained in effect while authorities lifted their evacuation advisory for Tuolumne City. Source: http://www.modbee.com/2013/08/29/2892704/rim-fire-slows-planning-starts.html

 • An August 29 fire which injured at least 11 at a three-story apartment building in New York City was believed to be the work of an arsonist. – PIX 11 New York City

42. August 29, PIX 11 New York City – (New York) Possible arsonist injures 11 in Bed-Stuy apartment building blaze. An August 29 fire which injured at least 11 at a three-story apartment building in New York City's Bedford-Stuyvesant area is believed to be the work of an arsonist seen fleeing the building. Source: http://pix11.com/2013/08/29/possible-arsonists-injures-11-in-bed-stuy-apartment-building-blaze/

Details

Banking and Finance Sector

7. August 30, Help Net Security – (International) Fraud and identity theft camouflaged by DDoS attacks. Researchers at Prolexic detailed attack signatures associated with the Drive distributed denial of service (DDoS) toolkit, a tool often used in DDoS attacks that serve as a distraction while attackers attempt to compromise financial and e-commerce services. Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=15492

8. August 29, Federal Bureau of Investigation – (Illinois) Ten defendants indicted in alleged $74 million vehicle financing fraud scheme resulting in $56 million in losses to lenders. An Oswego man and vehicle dealer, his accountant, and eight alleged straw buyers were indicted for allegedly running a $74 million fraudulent financing scheme that led to lenders losing more than $56 million. Source: http://www.fbi.gov/chicago/press-releases/2013/ten-defendants-indicted-in-alleged-74-million-vehicle-financing-fraud-scheme-resulting-in-56-million-in-losses-to-lenders

9. August 29, WAFF 48 Huntsville/Decatur – (Alabama) 'Ball Cap Bandit' indicted on 9 more counts for bank robberies. The suspect known as the "Ball Cap Bandit" was indicted on 9 additional bank robbery charges, bringing the total robberies he is accused of to 11 in which he allegedly stole $43,000. Source: http://www.wsfa.com/story/23291729/ball-cap-bandit-indicted-on-9-more-counts-for-bank-robberies

10. August 29, Softpedia – (International) Hackers steal credit card information from Midwest Supplies. The Web site of Minneapolis-based Midwest Supplies brewing and winemaking supplies company was breached by hackers who obtained access to customer names, addresses, credit card numbers, expiration dates, CVVs, phone numbers, and email addresses, the company revealed. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Hackers-Steal-Credit-Card-Information-from-Midwest-Supplies-379004.shtml

11. August 29, KYW-TV 3 Philadelphia – (Pennsylvania) Delco man charged with skimming tax funds he collected. A former Delaware County tax collector was charged with stealing $1.3 million over a decade from tax funds that he collected. Source: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/08/29/delco-man-charged-with-skimming-tax-funds-he-collected/

Information Technology Sector

32. August 30, Softpedia – (International) Expert shows how hackers can forge application names in Java security dialog. A researcher at Duckware identified three flaws in Java 7 Update 21, including one where the name of an app that appears in Java's security dialog can be easily forged. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Expert-Shows-How-Hackers-Can-Forge-Application-Names-in-Java-Security-Dialog-379398.shtml

33. August 30, Softpedia – (International) Cisco patches remote command execution flaw in Secure Access Control Server. Cisco issued a patch that closes a vulnerability in its Secure Access Control Server (ACS) that could be remotely exploited to execute arbitrary commands and take control of servers. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Cisco-Patches-Remote-Command-Execution-Flaw-in-Secure-Access-Control-Server-379326.shtml

34. August 30, The Register – (International) Facebook scammers raking in $200 MEEELLION in illicit profits. Two researchers who analyzed the pricing of Facebook spam used in various scams estimated that the spam trade brings in about $200 million per year. Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08/30/facebook_scammers_raking_in_200_meeellion_in_illicit_profits/

35. August 29, Threatpost – (International) Arabic text string taking down apps, clients, browsers on iOS, Mac OS X. Apple iOS and OS X users reported apps and Safari browser extensions crashing after receiving a particular string of Arabic text via Web pages, tweets, SMS, or other formats. The issue was traced to a problem with the Apple Core Text font rendering and page layout technology. Source: http://threatpost.com/arabic-text-string-taking-down-apps-clients-browsers-on-ios-mac-os-x/102146

36. August 29, V3.co.uk – (International) Hackers targeting Java native layer vulnerabilities to insert malicious code. A Trend Micro researcher reported that cybercriminals are increasingly targeting native layer vulnerabilities in Java, showing increasing sophistication in attacks on Java. Source: http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2291587/hackers-targeting-java-native-layer-vulnerabilities-to-insert-malicious-code

For another story, see item 7 above in the Banking and Financial Sector

Communications Sector

37. August 29, Laramie Boomerang – (Wyoming) Storm knocks out cell phone, Internet service. Verizon Wireless and Charter Communications in the Laramie area lost cell phone and Internet service August 27 after a storm hit Albany County, Wyoming. Source: http://www.laramieboomerang.com/articles/2013/08/29/news/doc521ed24c093ae702904610.txt