Complete DHS Daily Report for September 12, 2013
Daily Report
Top Stories
• Pennsylvania’s attorney general announced
Exxon Mobil Corp. was charged with illegally dumping over 50,000 gallons of
wastewater at the Marquandt shale-gas drilling site. – Bloomberg News
2.
September 11, Bloomberg News –
(Pennsylvania) Exxon charged with illegally dumping waste in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania’s
attorney general announced Exxon Mobil Corp. was charged with illegally dumping
over 50,000 gallons of wastewater at the Marquandt shale-gas drilling site in
Lycoming County in 2010. Authorities ordered Exxon unit XTO Energy Inc. to
remove 3,000 tons of soil to clean up the area and charged them for violating
the Clean Streams Law and Solid Waste Management Act. Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-11/exxon-charged-with-illegally-dumping-waste-water-in-pennsylvania.html
• A Romanian national and New York City
resident pleaded guilty to his role in a payment card skimming scheme that
stole around $985,000 from victims in several States. – NJToday.net (See
item 7) below in the Banking
and Finance Sector
• The University of Puerto Rico Hospital’s
intensive care unit was closed following an outbreak of a resistant bacteria
strain that affected at least 10 patients. – Associated Press
29.
September 10, Associated Press –
(Puerto Rico) Bacteria outbreak forced closure of Puerto Rico hospital’s
intensive care unit, officials say. The University of Puerto Rico
Hospital’s intensive care unit was closed following an outbreak of a resistant
bacteria strain that affected at least 10 patients, officials stated September
10. Authorities are investigating the cause of death of at least 10 of the
patients infected with the bacteria. Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/official-bacteria-forces-closure-of-puerto-rico-hospital-intensive-care-unit/2013/09/10/18cc2dc8-1a5d-11e3-80ac-96205cacb45a_story.html
• Microsoft released its September Patch
Tuesday round of patches addressing 13 vulnerabilities. – Help Net Security See item 42 below in the Information Technology Sector
Details
Banking and Finance Sector
6. September
10, St. Louis Post-Dispatch – (National) ‘I-55 Bandit’
started robbing banks in St. Louis area, now wanted in five states. The FBI
asked for the public’s help in locating a suspect known as the “I-55 Bandit”
believed responsible for 10 bank robberies and 2 attempted bank robberies
throughout Missouri, Maryland, West Virginia, Illinois, and Tennessee. Source: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/i--bandit-started-robbing-banks-in-st-louis-area/article_7cd60eb7-5825-57c4-b8ba-05a2db83cf2a.html
7. September
10, NJToday.net – (New York; New Jersey; Connecticut) NY man pleads guilty to
role in ATM skimming scheme. A Romanian national and New York City resident
pleaded guilty September 9 to his role in payment card skimming scheme that
stole around $985,000 from victims in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Source: http://njtoday.net/2013/09/10/ny-man-pleads-guilty-to-role-in-atm-skimming-scheme/
8. September
10, SC Magazine – (International) Shopping cart malware compromises credit card
information. Two Web sites belonging to the Outdoor Network had their
shopping cart systems infected with malware, possible compromising customers’
names, addresses, credit card numbers, CVV codes, and card expiration dates.
The compromise affects transaction made between December 2012 and July 2013.
Source: http://www.scmagazine.com/shopping-cart-malware-compromises-credit-card-information/article/311006/
For
another story, see item 39 below in the Information
Technology Sector
Information Technology Sector
36. September
11, Computerworld – (International) Buggy Microsoft update hamstrings Outlook
2013. A non-security update for Microsoft Office 2013 was found to cause
issues with Outlook 2013’s folder pane on systems running Windows 7 and Windows
8. Source: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9242322/Buggy_Microsoft_update_hamstrings_Outlook_2013
37. September
11, Softpedia – (International) PoC and details published for Microsoft
SharePoint Server 2013 flaw (MS13-067). A proof of concept (PoC) for a
vulnerability in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 was released by Vulnerability
Lab researchers following the publication of a patch that addresses the vulnerability.
The vulnerability can be remotely exploited to inject malicious script and
perform several malicious actions. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/POC-and-Details-Published-for-Microsoft-SharePoint-Sever-2013-Flaw-MS13-067-382088.shtml
38. September
11, Softpedia – (International) BlackBerry fixes vulnerabilities in Webkit,
libefix, and Flash Player. BlackBerry released patches that address several
vulnerabilities affecting a variety of products including the Webkit browser
engine, installations of Adobe Flash Player, and the libefix library. . Source:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/BlackBerry-Fixes-Vulnerabilities-in-Webkit-libefix-and-Flash-Player-382177.shtml
39. September
11, Softpedia – (International) Multiplayer video game servers abused for
DDoS attacks, experts warn. Prolexic warned that cybercriminals are
increasingly abusing multiplayer gaming servers to make their distributed
denial of service (DDoS) attacks more efficient. Prolexic observed instances of
gaming servers being used to launch DDoS attacks against financial services and
online gaming targets. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Multiplayer-Video-Game-Servers-Abused-for-DDOS-Attacks-Experts-Warn-382138.shtml
40. September
11, Softpedia – (International) Syrian Electronic Army hacks large number of
FOX Twitter accounts via HootSuite. Members of the Syrian Electronic Army
hacktivist group compromised dozens of Twitter accounts belonging to FOX after
they gained access to a HootSuite account that links the profiles. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Syrian-Electronic-Army-Hacks-Large-Number-of-FOX-Twitter-Accounts-via-HootSuite-381970.shtml
41. September
10, SC Magazine – (International) Saboteurs target OAuth protocol to compromise
HootSuite users. Around 7,000 HootSuite accounts were compromised and used
to send spam through Twitter after attackers targeted a third-party application
that uses OAuth to gain access. Source: http://www.scmagazine.com/saboteurs-target-oauth-protocol-to-compromise-hootsuite-users/article/311109/
42. September 10, Help Net Security –
(International) Microsoft releases 13 bulletins, axes .NET patch. Microsoft
released its September Patch Tuesday round of patches, which included 13
bulletins that address issues in Microsoft Office, Windows, SharePoint Server,
and Internet Explorer. Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=15547
43. September 10, Help Net Security –
(International) C&C PHP script for staging DDoS attacks sold on
underground forums. A security researcher at Webroot discovered a command
and control (C&C) PHP script designed to integrate multiple compromised
servers for use in distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks for sale on an
underweb forum. The script appears to be in early stages of development and has
a current listed price at $800. Source: http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=2585
Communications Sector
44.
September 11, Worcester Telegram & Gazette –
(Massachusetts) Shrewsbury cable company works on TV blackouts. Approximately
8,000 of 11,000 Shrewsbury Electric and Cable Operations (SELCO) customers
suffered intermittent blackouts of their basic and extended basic cable
beginning in May 2013, which became more pronounced the weekend of September 7.
The blackout occurs every 6 to 8 minutes for 1-3 seconds and while a patch has
been created for 80 percent of the affected channels, the remaining percentage
needs to remain in the interruption mode to permit SELCO to troubleshoot the
problem. Source: http://www.telegram.com/article/20130911/NEWS/309119909/1116