· The U.S.
Postal Service announced November 12 that it has shut down its secure virtual
private network (VPN) and suspended all telecommuting for employees at its
Washington, D.C. headquarters until further notice. – USA Today
13. November
12, USA Today – (National) Post office suspends telecommuting due to breach. The
U.S. Postal Service announced November 12 that it has shut down its secure
virtual private network (VPN) and suspended all telecommuting for employees at its Washington, D.C.
headquarters until further notice following a breach of its employee database
that compromised information of over 800,000 workers. Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/11/12/us-postal-service-suspends-telecommuting-breach-vpn/18915317/
· Visionworks
announced November 10 that a computer server containing information on about
75,000 customers went missing from its store in Annapolis, Maryland, during a
June store remodeling. – Harrisburg Patriot-News
19. November 10, Harrisburg
Patriot-News –
(Maryland; Pennsylvania) Highmark subsidiary suffers data loss; some Pa.
residents affected. Visionworks, a subsidiary of Highmark Inc., announced
November 10 that a computer server containing information belonging to about
75,000 customers, including about 130 Pennsylvania residents, went missing from
its store in Annapolis, Maryland, during a June store remodeling. The server
contained names and addresses and some health-related information on patients,
and officials do not believe the data was accessed. Source: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/11/highmark_visionworks_data_brea.html
· Officials
announced November 12 that Illinois’ motor vehicle facilities will reopen
November 13 following a computer outage that impacted operations at all 138
offices. – Associated Press
21. November 12, Associated
Press – (Illinois) Computers
go down at all state motor vehicle sites. Officials announced November 12
that Illinois’ motor vehicle facilities will reopen November 13 following a
computer outage that impacted operations at all 138 offices. Technicians from
IBM worked with the staff to resolve the unknown issue. Source: http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/27371404/computers-go-down-at-all-state-motor-vehicle-sites
· Police
are investigating potential links between bomb threats that were called into 5
different schools and public buildings in 5 different New Jersey towns November
12, after similar threats were made to 5 schools in the Boston area. – WNBC
4 New York City
23. November 12, WNBC 4 New York
City – (New Jersey;
Massachusetts) Threats phoned into 5 New Jersey high schools force
evacuations, link to Boston school threats probed: Sources. Police are
investigating potential links between bomb threats that were called into 5
different schools and public buildings in 5 different New Jersey towns within a
20 minute period November 12, after similar threats were made to 5 schools in
the Boston area 1 hour prior to the threats in New Jersey. Nothing suspicious
was found and authorities cleared the buildings. Source: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Bomb-Threats-New-Jersey-High-Schools-Evacuated-282467281.html
Financial Services Sector
6. November
12, South Florida Sun Sentinel – (Florida) Real estate broker
pleads guilty to $5.5M fraud. A Fort Lauderdale man who worked as a real
estate broker pleaded guilty November 12 to diverting clients’ funds,
falsifying information to obtain a mortgage, and lying on his U.S. citizenship
application in a case that involved over $5.5 million in fraud. Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/crime/fl-christopher-white-hearing-20141112-story.html
7. November
12, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York – (New
York) Investment fund manager pleads guilty to securities fraud for
operating a $17 million Ponzi scheme. A Central Islip man pleaded guilty
November 10 to deceiving at least 74 investors in 3 funds he operated in order
to run a $17.9 million Ponzi scheme between January 2000 and June 2009. Source:
http://www.fbi.gov/newyork/press-releases/2014/investment-fund-manager-pleads-guilty-to-securities-fraud-for-operating-a-17-million-ponzi-scheme
8. November
12, Seattle Times – (Oregon; Washington) FBI: ‘Roscoe Bandit’ bank robber
arrested in Oregon. Police in Grants Pass, Oregon, arrested a man November
12 believed to be the “Roscoe Bandit” responsible for four bank robberies in
Washington since July 28. Source: http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2014/11/fbi-roscoe-bandit-bank-robber-arrested-in-oregon/
Information Technology Sector
25. November
13, Securityweek – (International) Mobile Pwn2Own 2014: iPhone 5s, Galaxy S5,
Nexus 5, Fire Phone hacked. Researchers participating in the Mobile Pwn2Own
mobile device hacking competition in Tokyo November 12-13 were able to
compromise several popular smartphones and mobile devices, achieving a full
sandbox escape on an iPhone 5s, successful near field communications (NFC)
attacks on the Galaxy 5S, and several other successful compromises. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/mobile-pwn2own-2014-iphone-5s-galaxy-s5-nexus-5-fire-phone-hacked
26. November
12, WTNH 8 New Haven – (Connecticut) Coast Guard contractor pleads guilty to
stealing personal information. A Pawcatuck man who ran a computer repair
business and also worked as a contractor for the U.S. Coast Guard pleaded
guilty November 12 to stealing personal information and data over 250 times
from computers and other devices brought to him for repairs. Source: http://wtnh.com/2014/11/12/coast-guard-contractor-pleads-guilty-to-stealing-personal-information/
Communications Sector
27. November 13, KTVZ 21 Bend
– (Oregon) Bend man arrested in hit-and-run that knocked out
cable, Net. About 7,000 BendBroadband customers in the Deschutes County
area were without cable, Internet, and phone service for more than 18 hours
November 12 after a man crashed into a utility box and fled the scene.
Authorities arrested and charged the man. Source: http://www.ktvz.com/news/apparent-bend-hitrun-knocks-out-cable-net-phones/29678002
28. November 13, KILR 1070
AM/95.9 FM Estherville – (Iowa) Phone service restored after
mysterious outage in NW Iowa. An unidentified issue in Palo Alto County
caused a phone service outage in Emmet, Palo Alto, and Pocahontas counties for
several hours November 12. Emergency 9-1-1 service was redirected to the
Dickinson County Communications Center as customers experienced difficulties
receiving incoming calls. Source: http://www.radioiowa.com/2014/11/13/phone-service-restored-after-mysterious-outage-in-nw-iowa/
29. November 10, WYMT 57
Hazard – (Kentucky) Windstream internet outages put Hazard radio
station off air all weekend. WKIC 97.9 FM Hazard was off air for at least 4
days due to an Internet outage that affected Windstream customers in Perry
County, Kentucky. Officials worked to fix a piece of failed hardware that
prompted the outage. Source: http://www.wkyt.com/wymt/home/headlines/Windstream-internet-outages-put-Hazard-radio-station-off-air-all-weekend-282186451.html