Complete DHS Report for April 21, 2014
Daily Report
Details
• A power outage
affected around 30,000 Matanuska Electric Associated customers April 17 between
Glacier View and Wasilla, Alaska, after a tree fell on a transmission line,
causing 9 substations to trip and go offline. – KTUU 2 Anchorage
1.
April 17, KTUU 2 Anchorage – (Alaska) Power
restored in MEA Mat-Su Valley outage. A power outage affected around 30,000
Matanuska Electric Associated customers April 17 between Glacier View and
Wasilla after a tree fell onto a transmission line, causing power fluctuations
that caused 9 substations to trip and go offline. All power was restored after
around 2 hours. Source: http://www.ktuu.com/news/news/mea-reports-widespread-matsu-valley-outage/25542708
• Craft retailer
Michaels Stores confirmed April 17 that it was the victim of a data breach that
may have exposed information on around 2.6 million payment cards used at
Michaels and Aaron Brothers stores. – Reuters See item 5
below in the Financial Services Sector
• The U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it filed charges
against the Massachusetts-based operators of TelexFree Inc., and TelexFree LLC
for operating a $1.1 billion international pyramid scheme targeting Dominican
and Brazilian immigrants. – U.S. Security and Exchange Commission See item 9
below in the Financial Services Sector
• Authorities are
investigating the cause of a fire at a Marathon County Highway Department
building on State Highway 97 in Wisconsin April 18 that caused an estimated
$1.5 million in damage. – WAOW 9 Wasau
10.
April 18, WAOW 9 Wausau – (Wisconsin) Snow
plows, loader destroyed in fire. Authorities are investigating the cause of
a fire at a Marathon County Highway Department building on State Highway 97 in
Wisconsin April 18 that caused an estimated $1.5 million in damage. Source: http://www.waow.com/story/25281576/2014/04/18/highway-department-facility-fire
Financial Services Sector
5. April 17, Reuters – (National) Retailer Michaels Stores confirms payment
card data breach. Craft retailer Michaels Stores confirmed April 17 that it
was the victim of a data breach that may have exposed information on around 2.6
million payment cards used at Michaels and Aaron Brothers stores. The breach
was initially reported in January, and after investigation was found to have
taken place between May 8, 2013 and January 27, 2014. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/17/us-michaelsstores-cybercrime-idUSBREA3G27N20140417
6. April 17, Reuters – (National) SEC’s information technology at risk of
hacking: report. A report by the Government Accountability Office found
that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission failed to take steps to
protect its data networks from breaches, including failing to encrypt sensitive
information and failing to physically secure some systems. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/17/us-sec-cybercrime-security-idUKBREA3G25720140417
7. April 17, Los Angeles Times – (California) Glendale resident found guilty of bank
fraud, ID theft. Three men were found guilty April 17 for placing skimming
devices at several 99 Cents Only stores in southern California, stealing
payment card information from hundreds of customers and causing over $2 million
in losses. Source: http://www.glendalenewspress.com/news/tn-gnp-glendale-resident-found-guilty-of-bank-fraud-id-theft-20140417,0,1230805.story
8. April 17, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
– (Minnesota) Former Prior Lake
investment adviser admits to defrauding investors of $6 million. A former
Prior Lake investment advisor pleaded guilty April 17 to defrauding 13
investors of around $6 million in an investment fraud scheme by setting up fake
accounts in their names and using the victims’ funds for personal expenses.
Source: http://www.startribune.com/local/south/255675901.html?page=all&prepage=1
9. April 17, U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission – (International) SEC halts
payment scheme targeting Dominican and Brazilian immigrants. The U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced April 17 that it filed
charges April 15 against the Massachusetts-based operators of TelexFree Inc.,
and TelexFree LLC for allegedly operating a $1.1 billion international pyramid
scheme targeting mainly Dominican and Brazilian immigrants in the U.S. The
SEC’s actions also include an asset freeze, approved April 16, that secured
several million dollars in funds. Source: http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2014/lr22974.htm
For another story, see item 19
below from the Healthcare
and Public Health Sector
19. April 17, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – (Pennsylvania) UPMC data breach may affect as many as
27,000 employees. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) reported
April 17 that as many as 27,000 employees may have had their personal
information exposed in a February data breach, with at least 788 employees
becoming victims of tax fraud since the breach was discovered. UPMC assured
their patients that none of their information was breached. Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/business/finance/2014/04/17/UPMC-data-breach-may-affect-as-many-as-27-000-employees/stories/201404170277
Information Technology Sector
26. April
18, Softpedia – (International) Cybercriminals can hijack Steam
accounts with Steam Guard enabled. Researchers at Malwarebytes found that
attackers have been able to compromise Steam accounts with the Steam Guard
verification service enabled by using phishing pages that ask users to upload
the .ssfn file from their Steam folder, allowing the Steam Guard security
feature to be bypassed. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Cybercriminals-Can-Hijack-Steam-Accounts-with-Steam-Guard-Enabled-438488.shtml
27. April
18, Softpedia – (International) Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.Stealer.a is
one of the most widespread mobile trojans. Kaspersky Labs researchers found
that the Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.Stealer.a trojan accounted for almost a quarter
of attempted infections of Android devices running the company’s security
software during the first quarter of 2014, with the highest amount of
infections found in Russia. The trojan is capable of opening Web pages, sending
SMS messages, installing applications, and other functions. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Trojan-SMS-AndroidOS-Stealer-a-Is-One-of-the-Most-Widespread-Mobile-Trojans-438270.shtml
28. April
17, Charleston Post and Courier – (South Carolina) Bomb threat
reported at Google Data Center in Berkeley County. The Google Data Center
in Berkeley County, South Carolina, was evacuated for several hours April 17
after a bomb threat was found in a note left at the facility. Workers were
allowed to return after police cleared the building. Source: http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20140417/PC16/140419407/1005/
Communications Sector
See
item 25 below from the Emergency
Services Sector
25.
April 17, WKBT 8 La Crosse –
(Wisconsin) Temporary 911 communication outage reported in Monroe County. A
failure in CenturyLink equipment caused by a lightning strike April 13 led to
an outage that affected 9-1-1 calls in Monroe County, Wisconsin, for around 45
minutes April 17, prompting an alert from the Monroe County 9-1-1
Communications Center. All affected equipment was expected to be returned to
service by the April 19-20 weekend. Source: http://www.news8000.com/news/temporary-911-communication-outage-reported-in-monroe-county/25533
No comments:
Post a Comment