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