Monday, November 17, 2014



Complete DHS Report for November 17, 2014

Daily Report

Top Stories
 
 • Federal agents arrested 13 members of an extended family and their business associates in New York City and Orange County November 13 in an alleged $20 million mortgage and welfare fraud scheme. – Lower Hudson Valley Journal News See item 10 below in the Financial Services Sector

 Farmington, New Mexico officials reported that an estimated 50,000 gallons of sewage was discharged into a pond leading to the Animas River after two lift stations at a sewage treatment plant failed November 10. – KRQE 13 Albuquerque

21. November 13, KRQE 13 Albuquerque – (New Mexico) 50,000 gallons of raw sewage leaked into NM river. Farmington city officials reported that an estimated 50,000 gallons of sewage was discharged into a pond leading to the Animas River after two lift stations at a sewage treatment plant failed November 10. Source: http://krqe.com/2014/11/13/50000-gallons-of-raw-sewage-leaked-into-nm-river/
 
 Water service was restored throughout New Bedford, Massachusetts, November 12 following a November 11 water main break that discharged nearly 2 million gallons of water onto the city streets. – WPRI 12 Providence

22. November 12, WPRI 12 Providence – (Massachusetts) Nearly 2 million gallons of water lost in main break. Water service was restored throughout New Bedford November 12 following a November 11 water main break that discharged nearly 2 million gallons of water onto the city streets and left more than 30 homes and businesses without running water. Source: http://wpri.com/2014/11/12/nearly-2-million-gallons-of-water-lost-in-new-bedford-main-break/
 
 A fire at a bus maintenance garage near Detroit prompted the Van Buren Public Schools District in Wayne County to cancel classes at all schools November 13. – Detroit Free Press

27. November 13, Detroit Free Press – (Michigan) Bus yard fire cancels school in Van Buren district. A fire at a bus maintenance garage near Detroit prompted the Van Buren Public Schools District in Wayne County to cancel classes at all schools November 13. Several explosions set off a fire that destroyed the building. Source: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2014/11/13/van-buren-schools-fire/18956517/
 
Financial Services Sector

9. November 14, Softpedia – (International) Personal info on more than 70,000 posted online by debt sellers. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint against debt collection companies Cornerstone and Company, LLC of Riverside, California, and Bayview Solutions, LLC, of St. Petersburg, Florida, for allegedly leaving the personally identifiable information (PII) of over 70,000 customers online on a publicly accessible Web site. The FTC stated that the Excel spreadsheets included bank account numbers, payment card numbers, debt amounts, dates of birth, and other information and that the files were downloaded more than 500 times. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Personal-Info-on-More-than-70-000-Posted-Online-By-Debt-Sellers-464909.shtml

10. November 13, Lower Hudson Valley Journal News – (New York) Family accused in $20 million mortgage fraud scheme. Federal agents arrested 13 members of an extended family and their business associates in New York City and Orange County November 13 and expected 2 more to surrender after the individuals were indicted in an alleged $20 million mortgage and welfare fraud scheme that used fraudulent documents and concealed identities to obtain loans from banks as well as welfare payments and social services from the government. Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/13/family-accused-in-20-million-mortgage-fraud-scheme/18997087/

11. November 13, Chicago Sun Times – (Illinois) “Bully Bandit” suspected in 16th bank robbery. The suspect known as the “Bully Bandit” was believed to be responsible for the robbery of a Bank of America branch in Riverside, Illinois, November 13, the sixteenth robbery the suspect is linked to since November 2012. Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Bully-Bandit-Suspected-in-16th-Bank-Robbery-282663361.html

12. November 13, U-T San Diego – (California) ‘Bearded Bandit’ suspect nabbed in Vista. An FBI spokesperson stated November 13 that FBI agents arrested a Vista man November 10 believed to be the suspect known as the “Bearded Bandit” responsible for three bank robberies in San Diego County. Source: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/nov/13/bearded-bandit-bank-robber-fbi-gibson/
 
Information Technology Sector

28. November 14, Securityweek – (International) OnionDuke APT malware distributed via malicious Tor exit node. Researchers with F-Secure identified a piece of sophisticated malware dubbed OnionDuke that was distributed by a Russia-based Tor exit node and uses the same command and control infrastructure as the MiniDuke malware used in advanced persistent threat (APT) campaigns. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/onionduke-apt-malware-distributed-malicious-tor-exit-node
 
29. November 13, Threatpost – (International) Internet voting hack alters PDF ballots in transmission. Researchers at Galois published a paper demonstrating how an attacker could conduct an attack against home routers by altering the router firmware that would allow them to intercept a PDF voting ballot and modify it before sending it to the election authority. Source: http://threatpost.com/internet-voting-hack-alters-pdf-ballots-in-transmission/109333

For another story, see item 31 below in the Communications Sector

Communications Sector

30. November 13, KTHV 11 Little Rock – (Arkansas) Police: Man stole half a mile in working phone lines for copper. A North Little Rock man was charged in connection to stealing around 2,506 feet of copper worth more than $22,500 from AT&T telephone wires in the Blue Hill area for cash. Source: http://www.thv11.com/story/news/local/north-little-rock/2014/11/13/police-man-stole-half-a-mile-in-working-phone-lines-for-copper/18969761/

31. November 12, Associated Press – (National) US confirms climate agency websites hacked. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency spokesman confirmed November 12 that four of its Web sites were compromised by an Internet-sourced attack after staff detected the intrusion and began incident response efforts. The agency performed unscheduled maintenance and all services were fully restored. Source: http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/national/2014/11/us_confirms_climate_agency_websites_hacked

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