Friday, November 28, 2014



Complete DHS Report for November 28, 2014

Daily Report

Top Stories

 • Twenty-five Jacksonville, Florida-area residents and two others were charged November 25 in an alleged false compensation scheme that defrauded a BP oil spill compensation fund of more than $1 million. – Florida Times-Union
1.     November 26, Florida Times-Union – (Florida) 27 indicted in fraud case from 2010 BP oil spill; most from Jacksonville area. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that 25 Jacksonville-area residents and 2 others were charged November 25 in an alleged scheme to defraud a BP oil spill compensation fund of more than $1 million by claiming they were employees of businesses affected by the 2010 oil spill following the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana. Source: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2014-11-25/story/27-jacksonville-area-residents-indicted-fraud-case-2010-bp-oil-spill

 • A crash on Interstate 35 in San Marcos, Texas, involving 2 semi-trucks and 6 passenger vehicles destroyed 3 vehicles, left 1 person dead and 4 others injured, and shut down northbound lanes for nearly 12 hours November 25. – KXAN 36 Austin
5. November 26, KXAN 36 Austin – (Texas) Deadly crash closes parts of I-35 in San Marcos. Police are investigating after deadly crash on Interstate 35 in San Marcos involving 2 semi-trucks and 6 passenger vehicles destroyed the 2 trucks and 1 of the passenger vehicles, left 1 person dead and 4 others injured, and shut down northbound lanes for nearly 12 hours November 25. Source: http://kxan.com/2014/11/25/fiery-big-rig-crash-closes-down-i-35-in-san-marcos/

 • DeKalb Hospital in Auburn, Indiana, resumed normal operations November 24 after halting all admissions for 2 days after Legionnaire’s Disease bacteria was found in the hospital water supply following the death of a patient who tested positive for the bacteria. – Associated Press; Auburn Star 
15. November 25, Associated Press; Auburn Star – (Indiana) Indiana hospital resumes admissions after scare. DeKalb Hospital in Auburn, Indiana, resumed normal operations November 24 after halting all admissions for 2 days while it sanitized its water system after tests confirmed the bacteria that causes Legionnaire’s disease was in the hospital’s water following the death of a patient who tested positive for the bacteria. Source: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2014/11/25/3993922_indiana-hospital-resumes-admissions.html

 • A former patient registration specialist at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas pleaded guilty November 25 to stealing the personal information of more than 3,000 patients to recruit customers for his own business. – Dallas Morning News
16. November 25, Dallas Morning News – (Texas) Former Parkland hospital employee admits stealing patient information to market his home health care business. A former patient registration specialist at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas pleaded guilty November 25 to stealing the personal information of more than 3,000 patients to drum up business for his personal health care company, Dallas Home Health Care. His employees cold-called seniors for extraneous service and billed Medicaid and Medicare for the services, while bribing patients to stay on as clients. Source: http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2014/11/former-parkland-hospital-employee-admits-stealing-patient-information-to-market-his-home-health-care-business.html/

Financial Services Sector

2. November 25, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – (Missouri) SEC charges former Solutia executive with insider trading. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against the former CEO of Solutia Inc., November 25 for allegedly using insider information ahead of the company’s acquisition by Eastman Chemical Company to make illicit profits of $104,391. The former CEO agreed to settle the charges and was required to pay $104,391 in disgorgement, another $104,391 in a penalty, and $8,371.71 in interest as well as being barred from serving as an officer and director of a public company. Source: http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2014/lr23142.htm

3. November 25, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – (International) SEC charges HSBC’s Swiss private banking unit with providing unregistered services to U.S. clients. HSBC’s Switzerland-based private banking arm, HSBC Private Bank (Suisse), agreed to admit wrongdoing and paid $12.5 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that the entity violated federal securities laws by failing to register with the SEC before providing international investment advice and brokerage services to U.S. clients. Source: http://www.sec.gov/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370543534789
 
Information Technology Sector

24. November 26, IDG News Service – (International) Hacking Team surveillance malware masquerades as legitimate bookmark manager. The developers of the Detekt tool reported that the Remote Control System (RCS) surveillance malware developed and sold by Italian company Hacking Team was found disguised as the legitimate Linkman bookmark management application. The certificate signing the malware was found in two fake Linkman samples containing RCS as well as in a third malware sample, and the certificate was revoked by its issuing authority. Source: http://www.networkworld.com/article/2852753/hacking-team-surveillance-malware-masquerades-as-legitimate-bookmark-manager.html

25. November 26, Securityweek – (International) DoS vulnerability found in MatrikonOPC Server for DNP3. MatrikonOPC released updates for its OPC Server for DNP3 industrial connectivity devices to close a denial of service (DoS) vulnerability which could be exploited remotely by an attacker to cause a loop in the application until manually restarted. The product is used in industries including the energy and chemical sectors and users were advised to update their installations or use a workaround until the patch can be applied. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/dos-vulnerability-found-matrikonopc-server-dnp3

26. November 25, Securityweek – (International) Adobe patches Flash Player to add additional protection against attack. Adobe released an out-of-band patch for its Flash Player software as a precaution to protect users after the Angler exploit kit was found to target a vulnerability in Flash Player that may not have been patched during the most recent scheduled patch release. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/adobe-patches-flash-player-add-additional-protection-against-attack

27. November 25, SC Magazine – (International) DroidJack RAT hits hacker forums, comes from legitimate app developers. Symantec researchers reported that formerly legitimate app developers created a new remote access tool (RAT) for Android dubbed DroidJack and have put the malware up for sale on underweb forums. The malware includes several features, including access to compromised devices’ cameras, contact, GPS data, and the ability to listen to voice conversations. Source: http://www.scmagazine.com/droidjack-rat-posted-for-sale-online/article/385281/

Communications Sector

28. November 25, Petoskey News-Review – (Michigan) Crash knocks out area Charter services. Approximately 700 Charter Communications customers in the Petoskey area were without telephone, television, and Internet services for several hours November 25 when a vehicle crashed into a pole on M-119 near the local system’s head-end facility. Source: http://www.petoskeynews.com/featured-pnr/crash-knocks-out-area-charter-services/article_598b6fb4-74c9-11e4-925d-a31fa8014d0a.html

Thanksgiving,Thursday, November 27, 2014



No DHS Report today…A federal holiday.

Enjoy the holiday…Happy Thanksgiving

Wednesday, November 26, 2014



Complete DHS Report for November 26, 2014

Daily Report

Top Stories

 • Sixteen individuals were charged for allegedly running a telemarketing scheme that advertised real estate in Detroit at falsified prices to ensnare investors in a $20 million fraud scheme. – U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Michigan See item 5 below in the Financial Services Sector

 • About 2.5 acres of greenhouses at Amos Zittel & Sons Inc., in Eden, New York, collapsed due to heavy snow that accumulated during the week of November 17, causing several million dollars in damage. – Buffalo Business First
13. November 24, Buffalo Business First – (New York) Several greenhouses collapse at Amos Zittel & Sons. About 2.5 acres of greenhouses at Amos Zittel & Sons Inc., in Eden, New York, collapsed due to heavy snow that accumulated during the week of November 17. Damage was estimated to total several million dollars. Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2014/11/21/several-greenhouses-collapse-at-amos-zittel-sons.html?page=all

 • The former vice president of Carson Helicopters pleaded guilty November 24 to defrauding the U.S. Forest Service by submitting false information about helicopter payload capabilities in a bid process for a contract tied to a 2008 helicopter crash in California that killed 9 people. – Portland Oregonian
17. November 25, Portland Oregonian – (Oregon; California) Former Oregon helicopter official guilty of fraud scheme linked to deadly 2008 chopper crash. The U.S. attorney’s office for Oregon announced that the former vice president of Carson Helicopters pleaded guilty November 24 to defrauding the U.S. Forest Service by submitting false information about helicopter payload capabilities in a bid process for a contract tied to a 2008 helicopter crash that killed 9 people near Weaverville, California. The former vice president filed fraudulent and unsafe empty-helicopter weights in order to help the company win contracts. Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2014/11/former_oregon_helicopter_offic.html

 • Individuals involved in a riot that broke out after a protest November 24 in Ferguson, Missouri, looted and burned at least 12 businesses, vandalized police vehicles, and pelted police with various objects. – Associated Press
21. November 25, Associated Press – (Missouri) Family blasts prosecutor's handling of case. The governor of Missouri called in additional National Guard troops November 25 to contain a riot that broke out after a protest November 24 in Ferguson, Missouri, where individuals looted and burned at least 12 businesses, vandalized police vehicles, and pelted police with various objects. At least 18 individuals were injured and 61 individuals were arrested in connection to the riot, while around 10 flights were diverted or cancelled, and some area schools canceled classes November 25 as a precautionary measure. Source: http://news.yahoo.com/no-indictment-chaos-fills-ferguson-streets-083434303.html

Financial Services Sector

5. November 24, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Michigan – (International) Sixteen people charged in nationwide telemarketing scheme that involved thousands of homes in Detroit. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI announced charges against 16 individuals in Florida, Michigan, and New York for allegedly running a telemarketing scheme that used unsolicited calls advertising residential property in Detroit at falsified prices that ensnared investors and other buyers in a fraud scheme that led to over $20 million in losses to victims in the U.S. and Canada. Several of the accused were arrested November 21 in Florida, one individual was arrested after being extradited from Thailand, and one other remains at large overseas. Source: http://www.fbi.gov/detroit/press-releases/2014/sixteen-people-charged-in-nationwide-telemarketing-scheme-that-involved-thousands-of-homes-in-detroit

6. November 24, Bakersfield Now – (California) Bakersfield sisters guilty on federal charges in mortgage fraud case. Two Bakersfield women were convicted November 21 on fraud and conspiracy charges for defrauding mortgage lenders of around $6 million between October 2005 and May 2007 by submitting false loan applications and fraudulent supporting documentation. Three other co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty. Source: http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/Bakersfield-sisters-guilty-on-federal-charges-in-mortgage-fraud-case-283768111.html

7. November 24, Associated Press – (Connecticut) West Haven councilman pleads guilty to wire fraud. A West Haven councilman pleaded guilty November 24 to stealing $106,000 from customer accounts at his employer, JPMorgan Chase Bank in New Canaan, and disguising the embezzlement as cash withdrawals by the affected customers. He subsequently resigned from his seat on the West Haven City Council. Source: http://connecticut.cbslocal.com/2014/11/24/west-haven-councilman-pleads-guilty-to-wire-fraud/

8. November 24, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – (Massachusetts) Court enters judgments against former Massachusetts-based boiler room operator and his companies, also indicted by grand jury. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that a federal court entered final judgments November 18 against a Massachusetts man and his group of related entities for violating federal securities laws in a boiler room scheme and ordered the man and related entities to pay a total of $37,006,590 in disgorgement of illicit gains, interest, and penalties. Parallel criminal charges were filed and are pending against the man and another individual. Source: http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2014/lr23140.htm
 
Information Technology Sector
20. November 25, Help Net Security – (International) New Docker version solves critical bugs, update immediately. The developers of the Docker open source platform issued an update for the platform November 24, closing two critical vulnerabilities including one that can be used by a remote attacker to execute malicious code. Users were advised to update their installations as soon as possible. Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=17688

Communications Sector

Nothing to report