Tuesday, November 19, 2013



Complete DHS Daily Report for November 19, 2013

Daily Report

Top Stories

 • Over 321,000 customers across the Midwest were without power after a storm produced an outbreak of tornados and powerful winds, causing damage in several States. – CNN

1. November 18, CNN – (National) Midwest tornadoes: ‘The sky was just rumbling.’ Across the Midwest over 321,000 customers remained without power November 18 after a storm produced an outbreak of tornados and powerful winds November 17 that caused damage in several States. Source: http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/18/us/midwest-tornadoes/

 • An accident involving carbon monoxide at the Revenue Virginius mine in Ouray County, Colorado, killed 2 miners and injured 20 others. – KMGH 7 Denver

4. November 18, KMGH 7 Denver – (Colorado) 2 dead, 20 miners injured at Ouray County mine. An accident involving carbon monoxide present after an explosives accident at the Revenue Virginius gold, silver, and sulfides mine in Ouray County November 17 killed 2 miners and injured 20 others. State and federal mine safety regulators are investigating. Source: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/20-miners-injured-rescue-underway-for-2-more-in-ouray-county

 • JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to pay $4.5 billion to settle the claims of 21 institutional investors who lost money on mortgage-backed securities. – Reuters See item 6 below in the Financial Services Sector

 • Strong winds and hail from a storm across the Midwest caused widespread damage to roads, closed a section of Interstate 69, and killed at least 6 people and injured 37 others. – NBC News

11. November 17, NBC News – (National) Scores of tornadoes kill 6, injure at least 37 in Midwest. Strong winds and hail from a storm across the Midwest killed at least 6 people, injured 37, caused widespread damage to roads, closed both lanes on a section of Interstate 69 due to downed power lines, and destroyed other structures in several States November 17. Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/17/21503619-scores-of-tornadoes-kill-6-injure-at-least-37-in-midwest

Details

Financial Services Sector

5. November 16, Providence Journal – (Rhode Island; Puerto Rico) 2 arrested on federal identity-theft charges by Homeland Security. Two individuals in Providence, Rhode Island, were arrested and charged November 15 with allegedly running an identity theft, money laundering, and tax fraud scheme that mostly targeted victims living in Puerto Rico. The pair allegedly obtained more than $277,300 in federal tax checks using stolen identities, and then laundered the money through several accounts. Source: http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2013/11/2-arrested-on-federal-identity-theft-charges-by-homeland-security.html

6. November 15, Reuters – (National) JPMorgan Chase to pay $4.5 billion in mortgage security deal. JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed November 15 to pay $4.5 billion to settle the claims of 21 institutional investors who lost money on mortgage-backed securities issued by the company and Bear Stearns, which was later taken over by JPMorgan. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/16/us-jpm-mortgage-deal-idUSBRE9AE15T20131116

7. November 15, Leesburg Today – (Virginia) Third conspirator found guilty in mortgage fraud scheme. A former loan officer at First Empire Mortgage and Lifetime Financial Services was found guilty November 15 of falsifying loan applications and helping recruit straw buyers in a $19.9 mortgage fraud scheme in the Northern Virginia area. Source: http://www.leesburgtoday.com/public_safety/courts/third-conspirator-found-guilty-in-mortgage-fraud-scheme/article_59dbab5e-4e2e-11e3-83a5-0019bb2963f4.html

8. November 15, St. Louis Post-Dispatch – (Missouri) Pulaski Bank customer from Chesterfield charged with bank fraud. A Chesterfield man was arrested and charged November 15 with fraud for allegedly using a falsified purchase order and other fraudulent information to secure more than $6 million in loans. Source: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/pulaski-bank-customer-from-chesterfield-charged-with-bank-fraud/article_51e0533f-75a3-5d69-81ff-1897dc460727.html

9. November 15, KSLA 12 Shreveport – (Texas) ‘Loan Ranger Bandit’ strikes again. The Tyler Police Department reported that the suspect known as the “Loan Ranger Bandit” was responsible for robbing a Extraco Bank branch in Lampasas November 9. The suspect is wanted by the FBI and police in four States for several bank robberies dating back to 2011. Source: http://www.ksla.com/story/23980252/loan-ranger-bandit-strikes-again

Information Technology Sector

27. November 18, Softpedia – (International) Web hosting provider Hetzner hit by large DDoS attacks. Germany-based Web hosting provider Hetzner reported coming under distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack November 16-17, with the attack running at around 60 Gbps. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Web-Hosting-Provider-Hetzner-Hit-by-Large-DDOS-Attacks-401121.shtml

28. November 15, CSO – (International) Rise seen in use of Google service for mobile botnets. Kaspersky Lab released its latest IT Threat Evolution report, which found that mobile botnets are growing and recently began using the Google Cloud Messaging service to communicate with mobile malware, among other findings. Source: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/111613-rise-seen-in-use-of-276031.html

Communications Sector

Nothing to report