Tuesday, January 20, 2015



Complete DHS Report for January 20, 2015

Daily Report

Top Stories

 · The former managing clerk for a New York-based law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett was indicted January 15 for allegedly using his position to obtain nonpublic information and pass it on to 2 other men from New Jersey and New York City who traded on the information to obtain $5.6 million in illicit profits. – NJ.com See item 5 below in the Financial Services Sector

 · Authorities in Dallas, Texas, are searching for a suspect known as the "Lunch Buddy Bandit" believed to be responsible for 11 bank robberies in the area since December. – KTVT 11 Fort Worth See item 6 below in the Financial Services Sector

 · The U.S. Department of Transportation announced January 15 that it fined Southwest Airlines $1.6 million for violating tarmac delay rules during a 2014 winter storm in Chicago, Illinois. – NBC News

8. January 15, NBC News – (National) U.S. fines Southwest Airlines record $1.6 million for runway delays. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced January 15 that it fined Southwest Airlines $1.6 million for violating tarmac delay rules during a winter storm in Chicago in 2014 by not giving passengers the chance to disembark from the aircraft after 3 hours of waiting time. Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/u-s-fines-southwest-airlines-record-1-6-million-runway-n287236

 · A 2-alarm fire at Quality Growers Floral Company’s moss farm in Volusia County, Florida, January 16 engulfed 3 structures and caused an estimated $2 million in damage. – Central Florida News 13

15. January 16, Central Florida News 13 – (Florida) Fire destroys 3 buildings at De Leon Springs farm. A 2-alarm fire at Quality Growers Floral Company’s moss farm in Volusia County January 16 engulfed 3 structures and caused an estimated $2 million in damage. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Source: http://www.mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2015/1/16/fire_breaks_out_at_p.html

Financial Services Sector

4. January 16, Associated Press – (Ohio) Ohio man accused of defrauding 19 investors out of millions. A Uniontown, Ohio man was indicted January 14 for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme between October 2009 and September 2013 that defrauded 19 investors and resulted in investor losses of about $5.5 million. Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/OHDEG/80f29b286d7947b8b83363545418dc2b/Article_2015-01-16-OH-Investment-Fraud-Scheme/id-868b0e448df945fbbfbb8bcffafdef8e

5. January 15, NJ.com – (New Jersey; New York) Law firm insider faces charges in $5.6M trading scheme. The former managing clerk for New York-based law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett was indicted January 15 for allegedly using his position to obtain nonpublic information and pass it on to 2 other men from New Jersey and New York City who traded on the information to obtain $5.6 million in illicit profits. One of the men pleaded guilty in April 2014 and charges are pending against the other alleged participant. Source: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2015/01/law_firm_insider_faces_charges_in_56_million_tradi.html

6. January 15, KTVT 11 Fort Worth – (Texas) 'Lunch Buddy Bandit' may be responsible for 11 Dallas bank robberies. Authorities in Dallas are searching for a suspect known as the "Lunch Buddy Bandit" believed to be responsible for 11 bank robberies in the area since December. Source: http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2015/01/15/lunch-buddy-bandit-may-be-responsible-for-11-dallas-bank-robberies/

Information Technology Sector

28. January 16, Softpedia – (International) Google reveals security flaw in Windows 7, 8.1, patch to be shipped in February. Researchers with Google released details and a proof of concept (PoC) for a vulnerability in Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 that could allow an attacker to encrypt or decrypt data. Microsoft stated that a fix for the vulnerability will be released in February. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Google-Reveals-Security-Flaw-in-Windows-7-8-1-Patch-to-Be-Shipped-in-February-470191.shtml

29. January 16, Help Net Security – (International) One-click mobile fraud variant throws browser for a loop. Symantec researchers observed a variant of a mobile one-click fraud scam currently being used against users in Japan that creates a continuous barrage of pop-up ads when a user tries to close the ad which directs them to sign up for a paid service. The attack incapacitates the browser but other apps can be used and the attack can be stopped by clearing the contents of the browser cache. Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=17831

30. January 16, Softpedia – (International) Teen arrested for last year's DDoS attack on PSN and Xbox networks. Authorities in the U.K. in cooperation with the FBI arrested a man January 16 for allegedly participating in distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against the Sony Playstation and Microsoft Xbox gaming networks during 2014. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Teen-Arrested-for-Last-Year-s-DDoS-Attack-on-PSN-and-Xbox-Networks-470257.shtml

31. January 16, Help Net Security – (International) Typosquatting abuse of 500 most popular websites analyzed. Researchers with the University of Leuven in Belguim and Stony Brook University in the U.S. released a report on their research into typosquatting domains where attackers register domains for misspelled popular domains to attempt to capture traffic. The researchers found that half of all typosquatting domains can be traced back to four page hosters, and that 95 percent of the most popular domains are targeted by typosquatters, among other findings. Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=17833

Communications Sector

Nothing to report