Complete DHS Report for March 4, 2014
Daily Report
Details
• A severe winter storm dumped snow and
brought freezing temperatures throughout the Midwest and East Coast, prompting
the closure of federal government offices, school closures, flight
cancellations, and causing thousands to lose power March 3. – CNN
1.
March 3, CNN – (National) One more time: Snow, sleet, misery fall on
East Coast. A severe winter storm dumped snow and brought freezing
temperatures throughout the Midwest and East Coast, prompting the closure of
federal government offices, school closures, about 2,000 flight cancellations,
and causing thousands to lose power across several States March 3. Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/03/us/winter-storm/index.html
• Las Vegas Sands announced that cyberattacks
compromised employee and customer data from its Sands Bethlehem casino in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, potentially exposing banking and personal information.
– Softpedia
See
item 11 below in the Financial
Services Sector
• The owner of a Palatine, Illinois-based
industrial equipment company and the owner of former machine tools company
based in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, were indicted February 28 for allegedly
running a scheme to fraudulently obtain $190 million in financing. – U.S.
Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois See item 13 below
in the Financial Services Sector
• A portion of the northbound lanes of
Interstate 25 in south Denver were shut down for several hours after sudden
snow caused about 104 vehicles to crash in a roughly 2-mile stretch of highway
March 2. – Associated Press
16.
March 2, Associated Press – (Colorado) 1 killed, 30 injured in massive
Colorado pileup. A portion of the northbound lanes of Interstate 25 in
south Denver were shut down for several hours after sudden snow caused about
104 vehicles to crash in a roughly 2-mile stretch of highway March 2, killing 1
person and injuring several others. Source : http://www.vcstar.com/news/2014/mar/02/1-killed-30-injured-in-massive-colorado-pileup/
Financial Services Sector
11. March 1, Softpedia – (International) Casino operator
Las Vegas Sands admits hackers have stolen customer data. Las Vegas Sands
announced that cyberattacks which defaced some of its Web sites also
compromised employee and customer data from its Sands Bethlehem casino in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, potentially exposing credit card and bank account
information, Social Security numbers, and other personal information. The
company is continuing its investigation of the breach. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Casino-Operator-Las-Vegas-Sands-Admits-Hackers-Stole-Customer-Data-430017.shtml
12. February 28, WMAQ 5 Chicago – (Illinois) First
American Bank reports data breach in Chicago taxis. First American Bank
announced that it has received reports of fraudulent charges after customers
used taxis in Chicago that utilize two companies to process transactions. The
bank is continuing to investigate the fraudulent transactions. Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/First-American-Bank-Alleges-Data-Breach-from-Chicago-Taxis-247899551.html
13. February 28, U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of
Illinois – (Illinois; Pennsylvania) Two executives indicted in alleged
$190 million equipment financing fraud scheme that caused $100 million loss to
lenders. The owner of Palatine, Illinois-based Equipment Acquisition
Resources Inc., and the owner of former Machine Tools Direct Inc., based in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, were indicted February 28 for allegedly running a
scheme to fraudulently obtain $190 million in financing, causing $100 million
in losses for lenders. Source: http://www.fbi.gov/chicago/press-releases/2014/two-executives-indicted-in-alleged-190-million-equipment-financing-fraud-scheme-that-caused-100-million-loss-to-lenders
14. February 28, IDG News Service – (International) Gameover
malware tougher to kill with new rootkit component. Sophos researchers
reported that a new variant of the Gameover banking malware that steals online
banking credentials includes a kernel-level rootkit called Necurs that can make
the malware more difficult to remove from infected systems. Source: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2014/022814-gameover-malware-tougher-to-kill-279308.html
15. February 27, WPVI 6 Philadelphia – (Delaware;
Pennsylvania) Masked post office bandit indicted on bank robbery charges. A
man was indicted for allegedly robbing two banks and two post offices in
Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware, during January.
Source: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?id=9447273
Information Technology Sector
30.
March 3, Softpedia – (International) Meetup down for days due to DDoS
attack allegedly ordered by a competitor. Social networking portal Meetup
was hit by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack beginning February 27
that took the portal's Web site offline for several days. An attacker contacted
the company, claimed responsibility, and demanded a payment to end the attack.
Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Meetup-com-Down-for-Days-Due-to-DDOS-Attack-Allegedly-Ordered-by-a-Competitor-430290.shtml
31.
March 1, Softpedia – (International) Uroburos: Espionage rootkit
allegedly created by Russian intelligence agency. Researchers at G Data
analyzed a sophisticated rootkit dubbed Uroburos that can compromise Windows
systems in order to execute commands, steal files, capture traffic, and add new
modules to itself. The researchers believe the rootkit was created by a Russian
intelligence agency and has been in operation since 2011. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Uroburos-Espionage-Rootkit-Allegedly-Created-by-Russian-Intelligence-Agency-430030.shtml
For
another story, see item 14 above
in the Financial Services Sector
Communications Sector
Nothing to report