Thursday, October 30, 2014



Complete DHS Report for October 30, 2014

Daily Report

Top Stories

 · Mag-Plant in Attica, Kansas, will remain closed for several days following a fire that ignited in a cooling tower at the refinery October 28. – KWCH 12 Hutchinson

3. October 28, KWCH 12 Hutchinson – (Kansas) Large fire contained at Harper Co. plant. Officials reported that the Mag-Plant in Attica will remain closed for several days following a fire that ignited in a cooling tower at the refinery October 28. The plant was evacuated safely and authorities are investigating the incident. Source: http://www.kwch.com/news/local-news/large-fire-breaks-out-at-harper-co-plant/29392506

 · Federal authorities charged 28 people, including a former TCF Bank branch supervisor and former Central Bank teller in Minnesota, for allegedly running a bank fraud scheme that used around 1,500 counterfeit checks to steal or attempt to steal over $2 million from banks in several States. – Minneapolis Star Tribune See item 8 below in the Financial Services Sector

 · Two Philadelphia, Pennsylvania men were charged by federal authorities for allegedly conspiring to extort victims out of more than $5.8 million by threatening them into paying money onto MoneyPak prepaid debit cards, which the two men allegedly transferred to Green Dot Cards under their control. – Newark Star-Ledger See item 9 below in the Financial Services Sector

 · Comcast agreed to pay $16.7 million to subscribers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and nearby counties and offer up to $33.33 million in services in a settlement for allegedly overcharging subscribers between 2003 and 2008. – Reuters See item 22 below in the Communications Sector

 Financial Services Sector

8. October 29, Minneapolis Star Tribune – (National) Minnesota bank supervisor, teller among 28 charged in massive check fraud, says U.S. attorney. Federal authorities charged 28 people, including a former TCF Bank branch supervisor and former Central Bank teller in Minnesota, for allegedly running a bank fraud scheme that used around 1,500 counterfeit checks to steal or attempt to steal over $2 million from banks in several States. Arrests were made in connection with the charges in Florida, Minnesota,North Dakota, and Oregon. Source: http://www.startribune.com/local/280683322.html

9. October 28, Newark Star Ledger – (New Jersey; Pennsylvania) 2 Philadelphia men charged in $5.8M debit card scheme. Two Philadelphia men were charged by federal authorities for allegedly conspiring to extort victims out of more than $5.8 million by threatening them into paying money onto MoneyPak prepaid debit cards, which the twomen allegedly transferred to Green Dot Cards under their control. The targets of the alleged scheme included a retail store in New Jersey where a bomb threat was sent demanding a ransom. Source: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/10/2_philadelphia_men_threatened_to_blow_up_nj_cvs_if_they_didnt_fill_up_5000_worth_of_debit_cards_repo.html
 
Information Technology Sector

21. October 29, Securityweek – (International) Vulnerability found in firmware update process of ASUS routers. A researcher identified and reported a vulnerability in ASUS RT-series routers that could have allowed attackers to use a man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack to trick users into downloading older, vulnerable firmware versions or potentially malicious code due to the firmware request being sent in HTTP instead of HTTPS. ASUS closed the vulnerability in its 3.0.0.4.367.1123 update. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/vulnerability-found-firmware-update-process-asus-routers
 
Communications Sector

22. October 29, Reuters – (Pennsylvania) Comcast settles lawsuit over overcharging cable TV subscribers. Comcast Corporation agreed to pay $16.7 million to current and former subscribers in Philadelphia and 4 nearby counties and offer subscribers as much as $33.33 million in services via a $15 bill credit, free Internet upgrades, or free movies in a $50 million settlement for allegedly overcharging cable television subscribers between 2003 and 2008. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/29/us-comcast-lawsuit-idUSKBN0II1N320141029?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews

23. October 28, Eureka Times-Standard – (California) Phone, Internet service restored; no explanation yet on outages. Cellphone and Internet service for many Humboldt County residents and businesses was disrupted for most of the day October 27 due to a fiber issue that also affected the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay Command Center’s and Arcata Police Department’s communication systems. The source of the outage remains unknown and it is not immediately clear how many customers were affected. Source: http://www.times-standard.com/News/ci_26820315/Phone-Internet-service-restored;-no-explanation-yet-on-outages

24. October 28, Los Angeles Times – (National) FTC sues AT&T over unlimited data plans. The Federal Trade Commission sued AT&T Inc. October 28 for allegedly misleading millions of wireless customers who had unlimited data plans by slowing the speed of their data usage if they exceeded a monthly threshold, a practice known as throttling, and for failing to adequately notify impacted customers. Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ftc-att-suit-20141029-story.html