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