Tuesday, December 23, 2014



Complete DHS Report for December 23, 2014

Daily Report

Top Stories

 • A man was charged December 18 with allegedly manufacturing over $2 million in counterfeit U.S. currency and shipping around $270,000 to the U.S. from Uganda after he was arrested by Ugandan and U.S. authorities. – Associated Press See item 9 below in the Financial Services Sector

 • The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stated December 19 that 28 individuals from 10 States were sickened, including 5 people who died, in connection with a Listeria outbreak linked to caramel apples. – Reuters

20. December 19, Reuters – (National) Five dead, dozens ill from bacteria linked to caramel apples. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stated December 19 that 28 individuals from 10 States were sickened, including 5 people who died, in connection with a Listeria outbreak that is linked to caramel apples. The CDC advised against the consumption of all pre-packaged, commercially-produced caramel apples, including those with toppings, while officials continue to investigate the outbreak. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/19/us-usa-minnesota-listeria-idUSKBN0JX1LD20141219

 • The New York Police Department is investigating more than 15 threats against officers posted on social media following the death of 2 officers December 20 who were killed by a man after he allegedly broadcasted his intentions to kill police on social media. – CNN

30. December 22, CNN – (New York; Maryland) NYC mayor: Attack on police is an attack on all New Yorkers. The New York Police Department is investigating more than 15 threats against officers posted on social media platforms following the death of 2 officers December 20 who were killed by a man in Brooklyn after he allegedly broadcasted his intentions to kill police on social media. The suspect was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and authorities tied him to the shooting of an ex-girlfriend in Baltimore. Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/22/us/new-york-police-officers-killed/index.html

 • The U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced December 19 that T-Mobile US will pay at least $90 million for overbilling customers with unauthorized charges. – Associated Press See item 36 below in the Communications Sector

Financial Services Sector

6. December 22, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – (Massachusetts) SEC charges investment manager F-Squared and former CEO with making false performance claims. Investment management firm F-Squared Investments agreed December 22 to pay $35 million to settle charges filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the company engaged in false performance claims for its AlphaSector portfolio in order to mislead investors. Source: http://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2014-289.html

7. December 21, Chicago Tribune – (Illinois) FBI: ‘Play-Along Bandit’ hits 6th bank. A suspect known as the “Play-Along Bandit” was believed to be responsible for a December 20 robbery at an ABC Bank branch in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago, the sixth bank robbery linked to the suspect. Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-play-along-bandit-hits-west-side-bank-20141220-story.html

8. December 20, Newark Star-Ledger – (New Jersey) Jackson loan officer indicted in large-scale mortgage fraud. A Jackson, New Jersey loan officer for an undisclosed mortgage company was indicted December 18 for allegedly participating with others in a mortgage fraud scheme that cost financial institutions $10 million. The man was also charged with submitting falsified paperwork in order to obtain a loan modification for his home. Source: http://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/2014/12/jackson_loan_officer_indicted_in_large-scale_mortgage_fraud.html

9. December 19, Associated Press – (International) Feds: Uganda-based man counterfeited $2 million. A man was charged December 18 with allegedly manufacturing over $2 million in counterfeit U.S. currency and shipping around $270,000 to the U.S. from Uganda after he was arrested by Ugandan and U.S. authorities December 11. The alleged scheme was detected by bank employees in Pittsburgh who identified a counterfeit bill and an investigation found that counterfeits were shipped to individuals in Florida, Minnesota, Texas, and Washington. Source: https://www.indianagazette.com/news/reg-national-world/feds-ugandabased-man-counterfeited-2-million,21169993/

For another story, see item 37 below in the Communications Sector

Information Technology Sector

33. December 22, Securityweek – (International) Easily exploitable NTP vulnerabilities put ICS operators at risk. Researchers with Google’s Security Team identified and reported several vulnerabilities in the Network Time Protocol (NTP) which could allow low-skilled attackers to crash the NTP daemon or execute arbitrary code using publicly available exploits. The Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) released an advisory regarding the vulnerabilities due to the wide use of NTP within industrial control systems (ICS) deployments. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/easily-exploitable-ntp-vulnerabilities-put-ics-operators-risk

34. December 19, Securityweek – (International) Hackers used sophisticated SMB Worm Tool to attack Sony. The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) issued an advisory and indicators of compromise after attackers were found to use a Server Message Block (SMB) Worm Tool in a recent destructive attack against a major entertainment company. The SMB Worm Tool contained five components, allowing it to compromise systems, enable backdoor access, and destroy hard drive contents. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/hackers-used-sophisticated-smb-worm-tool-attack-sony

Communications Sector

35. December 21, Bluefield Daily Telegraph – (West Virginia) Arrest made in copper theft. Two McDowell County men were arrested December 19 for allegedly stealing copper cables that disrupted telephone service for approximately 240 Frontier Communications’ customers in the Big Sandy-Hensley area December 16-December 17. Source: http://www.bdtonline.com/news/arrests-made-in-copper-theft/article_63bb6440-8896-11e4-aad2-4778d6c2d7cf.html

36. December 19, Associated Press – (National) T-Mobile paying at least $90M for unwanted services. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced December 19 that T-Mobile US will pay at least $90 million for overbilling customers for unauthorized charges under a settlement with federal regulators after authorities accused the company for billing customers for cellphone text services they did not order. Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/mobile-paying-90m-refunds-unwanted-services-27719411

37. December 19, Payson Roundup – (Arizona) Squirrel suspected in service outage. A damaged fiber optic cable left thousands of CenturyLink, Suddenlink, Verizon, and AT&T customers in Rim Country without telephone, Internet, and TV services for nearly 9 hours December 16. Some businesses and banks in the area were forced to close due to the loss of service. Source: http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2014/dec/19/squirrel-suspected-service-outage/