Monday, October 20, 2014



Complete DHS Report for October 20, 2014

Daily Report

Top Stories

  · Athena Capital Research in New York agreed to pay $1 million in penalties to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that the firm engaged in the manipulation of NASDAQ-listed stocks by placing large numbers of rapid, aggressive trades 2 seconds before the end of trading. – U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission See item 4 below in the Financial Services Sector
 
 · Six crew members and 38 passengers aboard an Arkansas and Missouri Railroad passenger train were injured after a freight train crashed into it while it was stalled on a small grade in northwest Arkansas October 16. – CNN

6. October 17, CNN – (Arkansas) Train collision injures 44 on fall foliage ride in northwest Arkansas. Six crew members and 38 passengers aboard an Arkansas and Missouri Railroad passenger train touring fall foliage were injured after a freight train crashed into it while it was stalled on a small grade in northwest Arkansas October 16. Authorities are investigating the incident. Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/16/us/arkansas-train-collison/index.html
 
  · The Baltimore County Department of Public Works announced October 16 that an estimated 17,553 gallons of sewage was discharged into Gwynns Falls in Maryland, beginning September 24 through October 2. – Baltimore Sun

13. October 16, Baltimore Sun – (Maryland) Sewage leak at Gwynns Falls takes eight days to repair. The Baltimore County Department of Public Works announced October 16 that an estimated 17,553 gallons of sewage was discharged into Gwynns Falls beginning September 24, and lasted through October 2 before crews were able to repair a broken sewer pipe. Workers made several attempts to plug the leak after determining a tree had fallen on the pipe. Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-sewage-overflow-20141016-story.html
 
  · Firefighters responded to the Beech Grove Firearms gun store in Indiana October 17 after a fire that broke out October 16 reignited causing a collective $2 million in damage. – WRTV 6 Indianapolis (See item 27)

27. October 17, WRTV 6 Indianapolis – (Indiana) Fire reignites at Beech Grove gun store after Thursday blaze. Firefighters responded to the Beech Grove Firearms gun store in Indiana October 17 after a fire that broke out October 16 reignited, causing a collective $2 million in damage. The initial blaze is believed to have started when a patron used the wrong type of bullet on a firing range at the facility, prompting an evacuation of 20 customers and 7 employees. Source: http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/crews-respond-to-fire-at-beech-grove-gun-store

Financial Services Sector

4. October 16, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – (New York) SEC charges New York-based high frequency trading firm with fraudulent trading to manipulate closing prices. New York City-based high frequency trading firm Athena Capital Research agreed to pay $1 million in penalties to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that the firm engaged in the manipulation of NASDAQ-listed stocks by placing large numbers of rapid, aggressive trades 2 seconds before the end of trading over a 6 month period. The case was the first high frequency trading stock manipulation case. Source: http://www.sec.gov/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370543184457

5. October 16, South Florida Sun Sentinel – (Florida) Broker admits guilt in Ponzi fraud. A Miami broker pleaded guilty October 16 to his role in the $1.4 billion Ponzi scheme run out of the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm in Fort Lauderdale. The broker was charged for assisting in several fraudulent deals that were part of the larger Ponzi scheme. Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-rothstein-david-pearson-brf-20141016-story.html

Information Technology Sector

21. October 17, Threatpost – (International) SAP patches DoS flaw in Netweaver. SAP released a patch for its Netweaver platform that closes a remotely exploitable denial of service (DoS) vulnerability reported by Core Security researchers in June. The vulnerability could allow an unauthenticated attacker to use a specially crafted SAP Enqueue Server packet to create the DoS condition. Source: http://threatpost.com/sap-patches-dos-flaw-in-netweaver/108896

22. October 17, IDG News Service – (International) New technique allows attackers to hide stealthy Android malware in images. Two researchers presenting at the Black Hat Europe conference October 16 revealed a technique dubbed AngeCryption that could allow an attacker to hide malicious Android applications inside image files in order to avoid detection by antivirus programs and potentially the Google Play store’s malware scanner. Source: http://www.networkworld.com/article/2835433/new-technique-allows-attackers-to-hide-stealthy-android-malware-in-images.html

23. October 16, Softpedia – (International) XSS risk found in links to New York Times articles prior to 2013. A student reported and published a proof of concept for a vulnerability in articles on the New York Times Web site published before 2013 that could allow attackers to hijack browser sessions, direct users to phishing sites, or steal cookies by exploiting a cross-site scripting (XSS) flaw. The vulnerability exists on pages containing certain buttons and does not affect the most recent versions of popular Web browsers. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/XSS-Risk-Found-In-Links-to-New-York-Times-Articles-Prior-to-2013-462334.shtml

24. October 16, The Register – (International) Bad news, fandroids: He who controls the IPC tool, controls the DROID. Researchers with Check Point presenting at the Black Hat Europe conference October 16 detailed a flaw in the Android inter-process communication (IPC) tool Binder that could allow attackers to override in-app security features to tamper with apps and steal passwords and other information. Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/16/android_messaging_mechanism_security_flawed/

25. October 16, IDG News Service – (International) All-in-one printers can be used to control infected air-gapped systems from far away. A cryptographer and two researchers from Ben-Gurion University presenting at the Black Hat Europe conference October 16 demonstrated how an all-in-one printer could be used to issue commands to infected systems on an air-gapped network by shining infrared or visible light at the scanner lid when open, issuing commands to malware already planted on the system via USB drive or other method. The researchers were able to successfully test the method at a target printer inside a building at 200, 900, and 1,200 meters and stated that a more powerful laser could produce reliable results from up to 5 kilometers. Source: http://www.networkworld.com/article/2834973/allinone-printers-can-be-used-to-control-infected-airgapped-systems-from-far-away.html

Communications Sector

26. October 15, TV Technology – (Texas) FCC fines Texas TV Group $86,400 for unauthorized BAS. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an $86,400 fine against Texas-based Midessa Television for allegedly operating several unauthorized broadcast auxiliary services for a number of years in violation of FCC rules. Source: http://www.tvtechnology.com/news/0086/fcc-fines-texas-tv-group--for-unauthorized-bas/272865