Daily Report
Top Stories
· Ten workers safely shut
off liquid fertilizer chemical tanks and evacuated the Kugler Company
fertilizer plant in Sterling, Colorado, September 3 after a welding accident
sparked a fire that consumed nearly 95 percent of the building. – KCNC 4
Denver
12. September 3, KCNC 4 Denver – (Colorado) Massive fire destroys fertilizer plant in
sterling. Ten workers safely shut off liquid fertilizer chemical tanks and
evacuated the Kugler Company fertilizer plant in Sterling September 3 after a
welding accident sparked a fire that consumed nearly 95 percent of the
building. A reverse 9-1-1 call was transmitted to 200 households warning
residents that a small amount of anhydrous ammonia leaked out of pipes during
the blaze and could pose health risks to individuals with respiratory problems.
Source: http://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/09/03/massive-fire-destroys-fertilizer-plant-in-sterling/
· A
broken sewer line at the wastewater treatment plant in Storm Lake, Iowa,
September 3 caused about 90,000 gallons of partially treated and raw sewage to
leak, including the release of 10,000 gallons into Outlet Creek. – KTIV 4
Sioux City
16. September
4, KTIV 4 Sioux City – (Iowa) DNR officials are monitoring a
creek in Storm Lake, IA after a sewage leak. Contractors inadvertently hit
and broke a sewer line at the wastewater treatment plant in Storm Lake
September 3 and caused about 90,000 gallons of partially treated and raw sewage
to leak. Crews contained the leak and built three temporary dams to prevent
further leaking after 10,000 gallons of the sewage flowed into Outlet Creek.
Source: http://www.ktiv.com/story/26448111/2014/09/04/dnr-officials-are-monitoring-a-creek-in-storm-lake-ia-after-a-sewage-leak
· Thirteen
people were injured September 3 after a chemical explosion during a routine
science exhibition at the Terry Lee Wells Discovery Museum in Reno, Nevada. – Associated
Press
32. September
4, Associated Press – (Nevada) 13 hurt, mostly kids, in chemical
blast at museum. Seven children and 2 adults were transported to an area
hospital while 4 others were treated at the scene September 3 after a chemical
explosion during a routine science exhibition at the Terry Lee Wells Discovery
Museum in Reno. The museum was evacuated and a HAZMAT team responded to the
scene to test the air quality. Source: http://news.msn.com/us/13-hurt-mostly-kids-in-chemical-blast-at-museum
· Seven
individuals were injured and 54 residents were displaced in a 9-alarm fire that
caused a roof collapse at the 12 Harvard Terrace apartment building in Boston
September 3. – Boston Herald
33. September
4, Boston Herald – (Massachusetts) Allston fire injures 7, leaves
54 homeless. Seven individuals, including 5 firefighters, were injured and
54 residents were displaced in a 9-alarm fire that caused a roof collapse at
the 12 Harvard Terrace apartment building in the Allston area of Boston
September 3. The cause of the fire that officials believe caused millions of
dollars in damage is under investigation. Source: http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/09/allston_fire_injures_7_leaves_54_homeless
Financial Services Sector
4. September
4, Softpedia – (International) Updated Vawtrak banking malware
strain expands target list. Researchers with PhishLabs identified a new
variant of the Vawtrak financial malware (also known as Neverquest) that has
added features in the last month enabling it to expand its targets to users in
the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The malware targets financial institutions as
well as social networks, online retailers, gaming portals, and analytics firms
and can steal credentials and automate fraudulent transactions. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Updated-Vawtrak-Banking-Malware-Strain-Expands-Target-List-457656.shtml
5. September
3, Associated Press – (International) Immigration lawyer charged
with investment fraud. A Los Angeles immigration lawyer was indicted in
federal court September 3 for allegedly defrauding 94 foreigners seeking green
cards through an immigrant investor program of around $47 million by claiming
to recruit investors for an ethanol production project. The lawyer, his wife,
and a law partner were also charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission in the case and the lawyer was arrested by Korean authorities on
similar charges. Source: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/sep/03/immigration-lawyer-charged-with-investment-fraud/
6. September
3, Chicago Tribune – (Illinois) FBI: ‘Hooded Bandit’ serial
robber hits bank in Elk Grove Village. The FBI stated that the man who
robbed a First Merit Bank branch in Elk Grove Village September 3 was believed
to be a suspect known as the “Hooded Bandit” responsible for six other bank
robberies in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-fbi-hooded-bandit-serial-robber-hits-bank-in-elk-grove-village-20140903-story.html
For another story, see item 28 below
in the Information Technology Sector
Information Technology Sector
26. September
4, Softpedia – (International) Old Slider Revolution
vulnerability massively exploited. Researchers at Sucuri found that
attackers began heavily exploiting an old vulnerability in unpatched versions
of the Slider Revolution Premium plugin for WordPress during August, which
could allow a Local File Inclusion (LFI) attack. The vulnerability was fixed in
February and all users were advised to update to the latest version as soon as
possible. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Old-Slider-Revolution-Vulnerability-Massively-Exploited-457607.shtml
27. September
4, Securityweek – (International) CERT warns of Android apps
vulnerable to MitM attacks. The Computer Emergency Response Team
Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University (CERT/CC) published a list of
popular Android apps that expose users to man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks due
to the apps not properly validating SSL certificates. CERT/CC released its
findings in a spreadsheet detailing their results and is attempting to contact
the authors of every app that failed the organization’s tests. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/cert-warns-android-apps-vulnerable-mitm-attacks
28. September
4, Softpedia – (International) Home router DNS settings changed
via Web-based attack. Kaspersky Lab researchers identified a Web-based
attack that uses Web pages with malicious scripts to attempt to change users’
home router Domain Name System (DNS) settings in order to redirect users to
phishing pages of financial institutions. The attack was mostly observed in
Brazil but also targeted some users in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and other
countries. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Home-Router-DNS-Settings-Changed-Via-Web-Based-Attack-457668.shtml
29. September
4, The Register – (International) VirusTotal mess means YOU TOO
can track Comment Crew! A researcher released findings on how he was able
to use structured data and analysis to identify a subgroup of the Comment Crew
group and an unnamed Iranian group using Google’s VirusTotal service to test
new versions of malware against security software and check for detection
rates. Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/04/virustotal_blue_means_you_too_can_track_comment_crew/
30. September
3, Help Net Security – (International) Semalt botnet hijacked
nearly 300k computers. Incapsula researchers reported that the Semalt
botnet is spreading quickly and is currently made up of around 290,000 infected
machines. The botnet is linked to a Ukrainian search engine optimization (SEO)
service and spams millions of Web sites in a referrer spam campaign designed to
fraudulently boost a site’s search engine ranking. Source: http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=2857
For another story, see item 4 above
in the Financial Services Sector
Communications Sector
31. September 4, Peninsula Daily News –
(Washington, Oregon, California) Internet
outage hits north Olympic Peninsula and beyond. CenturyLink and Wave
Broadband customers in Washington, Oregon, and California reported either
Internet, phone, or television service outages that lasted several hours
September 3 and affected many businesses. Officials reported that the Wave
Broadband outage was caused by a boat that cut through a major fiber-optic
cable while the cause of the CenturyLink outage remained under investigation.
Source: http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20140904/NEWS/309049991/internet-outage-hits-north-olympic-peninsula-and-beyond