Complete DHS Report for December 23, 2014
Daily Report
Top Stories
• A man was charged December 18 with allegedly
manufacturing over $2 million in counterfeit U.S. currency and shipping around
$270,000 to the U.S. from Uganda after he was arrested by Ugandan and U.S.
authorities. – Associated Press See item 9
below in the Financial Services Sector
• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
stated December 19 that 28 individuals from 10 States were sickened, including
5 people who died, in connection with a Listeria outbreak linked to caramel
apples. – Reuters
20. December
19, Reuters – (National) Five dead, dozens ill from bacteria
linked to caramel apples. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stated
December 19 that 28 individuals from 10 States were sickened, including 5
people who died, in connection with a Listeria outbreak that is linked to
caramel apples. The CDC advised against the consumption of all pre-packaged,
commercially-produced caramel apples, including those with toppings, while
officials continue to investigate the outbreak. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/19/us-usa-minnesota-listeria-idUSKBN0JX1LD20141219
• The New York Police Department is
investigating more than 15 threats against officers posted on social media
following the death of 2 officers December 20 who were killed by a man after he
allegedly broadcasted his intentions to kill police on social media. – CNN
30. December
22, CNN – (New York; Maryland) NYC mayor: Attack on police is an
attack on all New Yorkers. The New York Police Department is investigating
more than 15 threats against officers posted on social media platforms
following the death of 2 officers December 20 who were killed by a man in Brooklyn
after he allegedly broadcasted his intentions to kill police on social media.
The suspect was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and authorities
tied him to the shooting of an ex-girlfriend in Baltimore. Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/22/us/new-york-police-officers-killed/index.html
• The U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced
December 19 that T-Mobile US will pay at least $90 million for overbilling
customers with unauthorized charges. – Associated Press See item 36 below in the Communications Sector
Financial Services Sector
6. December
22, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – (Massachusetts) SEC
charges investment manager F-Squared and former CEO with making false
performance claims. Investment management firm F-Squared Investments agreed
December 22 to pay $35 million to settle charges filed by the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission that the company engaged in false performance claims
for its AlphaSector portfolio in order to mislead investors. Source: http://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2014-289.html
7. December
21, Chicago Tribune – (Illinois) FBI: ‘Play-Along Bandit’ hits 6th bank. A
suspect known as the “Play-Along Bandit” was believed to be responsible for a
December 20 robbery at an ABC Bank branch in the Austin neighborhood of
Chicago, the sixth bank robbery linked to the suspect. Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-play-along-bandit-hits-west-side-bank-20141220-story.html
8. December
20, Newark Star-Ledger – (New Jersey) Jackson loan officer indicted
in large-scale mortgage fraud. A Jackson, New Jersey loan officer for an
undisclosed mortgage company was indicted December 18 for allegedly
participating with others in a mortgage fraud scheme that cost financial
institutions $10 million. The man was also charged with submitting falsified
paperwork in order to obtain a loan modification for his home. Source: http://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/2014/12/jackson_loan_officer_indicted_in_large-scale_mortgage_fraud.html
9. December
19, Associated Press – (International) Feds: Uganda-based man counterfeited $2
million. A man was charged December 18 with allegedly manufacturing over $2
million in counterfeit U.S. currency and shipping around $270,000 to the U.S.
from Uganda after he was arrested by Ugandan and U.S. authorities December 11.
The alleged scheme was detected by bank employees in Pittsburgh who identified
a counterfeit bill and an investigation found that counterfeits were shipped to
individuals in Florida, Minnesota, Texas, and Washington. Source: https://www.indianagazette.com/news/reg-national-world/feds-ugandabased-man-counterfeited-2-million,21169993/
For another story, see item 37 below in the Communications Sector
Information Technology Sector
33. December 22, Securityweek – (International) Easily
exploitable NTP vulnerabilities put ICS operators at risk. Researchers with
Google’s Security Team identified and reported several vulnerabilities in the
Network Time Protocol (NTP) which could allow low-skilled attackers to crash
the NTP daemon or execute arbitrary code using publicly available exploits. The
Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) released an
advisory regarding the vulnerabilities due to the wide use of NTP within
industrial control systems (ICS) deployments. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/easily-exploitable-ntp-vulnerabilities-put-ics-operators-risk
34. December 19, Securityweek – (International) Hackers
used sophisticated SMB Worm Tool to attack Sony. The United States Computer
Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) issued an advisory and indicators of
compromise after attackers were found to use a Server Message Block (SMB) Worm
Tool in a recent destructive attack against a major entertainment company. The
SMB Worm Tool contained five components, allowing it to compromise systems,
enable backdoor access, and destroy hard drive contents. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/hackers-used-sophisticated-smb-worm-tool-attack-sony
Communications Sector
35. December 21, Bluefield
Daily Telegraph – (West Virginia) Arrest made in copper theft. Two
McDowell County men were arrested December 19 for allegedly stealing copper
cables that disrupted telephone service for approximately 240 Frontier
Communications’ customers in the Big Sandy-Hensley area December 16-December
17. Source: http://www.bdtonline.com/news/arrests-made-in-copper-theft/article_63bb6440-8896-11e4-aad2-4778d6c2d7cf.html
36. December 19, Associated
Press – (National) T-Mobile paying at least $90M for unwanted
services. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced December 19 that
T-Mobile US will pay at least $90 million for overbilling customers for
unauthorized charges under a settlement with federal regulators after
authorities accused the company for billing customers for cellphone text
services they did not order. Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/mobile-paying-90m-refunds-unwanted-services-27719411
37. December 19, Payson
Roundup – (Arizona) Squirrel suspected in service outage. A
damaged fiber optic cable left thousands of CenturyLink, Suddenlink, Verizon,
and AT&T customers in Rim Country without telephone, Internet, and TV
services for nearly 9 hours December 16. Some businesses and banks in the area
were forced to close due to the loss of service. Source: http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2014/dec/19/squirrel-suspected-service-outage/
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