Complete DHS Report for February
6, 2015
Daily Report
Top Stories
· The
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) warned February 3 that
weather-related issues caused delays for all MBTA buses and subways and that it
would take 4 to 5 days to restore normal service. – Boston Globe
5. February
4, Boston Globe – (Massachusetts) MBTA warns all subway lines,
buses experiencing delays; traffic just as bad. The Massachusetts Bay
Transportation Authority (MBTA) warned February 3 that weather-related issues
caused delays for all MBTA buses and subways and that it would take 4 to 5 days
to restore normal service. About 40 percent of Red Line and Orange Line trains
were down before more than 100 subway cars were brought back in service
February 4 while the Blue Line experienced continued delays. Source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/02/04/mbta-warns-all-subway-lines-buses-experiencing-delays/y2V9Yu0XG5HGxly9usARxI/story.html
· About 25
million honey bees were recovered and transported February 2 after they escaped
from a semi-truck that was hit by a second semi-truck on Interstate 10 near
Coachella, California, earlier that day. – Palm Springs Desert Sun
7. February
3, Palm Springs Desert Sun – (California) Expert: All bees
removed from I-10 crash site. About 25 million honey bees were recovered
and transported February 2 after they escaped from a semi-truck that was hit by
a second semi-truck on Interstate 10 near Coachella earlier that day. About 3.6
million bees died and the second semi-truck carrying chicken was destroyed
during the incident that prompted the closure of some lanes of the Interstate.
Source: http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2015/02/03/bees-chicken-interstate-collision/22803451/
· Anthem
Inc., announced that it discovered a breach the week of January 26 which could
impact up to 80 million customers across 14 States, after the company learned
it was the target of a cyber-attack when hackers gained access to the company’s
computer systems and accessed patients’ personal information. – USA Today
11. February
5, USA Today – (National) Massive breach at health care company
Anthem Inc. Anthem Inc., announced that it discovered a breach the week of
January 26 which could potentially impact as many as 80 million customers
across 14 States, after the company learned it was the target of a
sophisticated external cyber-attack when hackers gained access to the company’s
computer systems and accessed patients’ personal information, including Social
Security numbers. Anthem is working to determine how many current and former
customers were affected and assured the public that no credit card information
was obtained. Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/02/04/health-care-anthem-hacked/22900925/
· Frederick
High School and West Frederick Middle School in Maryland were closed February 5
following a February 4 shooting outside the high school gymnasium during a
basketball game that left 2 students injured. – WBAL 11 Baltimore
13. February
5, WBAL 11 Baltimore – (Maryland) 2 students wounded in shooting
at Frederick High School. Frederick High School and West Frederick Middle
School in Maryland were closed February 5 following a February 4 shooting
outside the high school gymnasium during a basketball game that left 2 students
injured. The high school went on lockdown for 3 hours after shots were fired and
authorities continue to search for suspects. Source: http://www.wbaltv.com/news/police-investigate-shooting-at-frederick-high-school/31103084
Financial Services Sector
3. February
3, California Department of Insurance – (California) Former Inland Empire
insurance agent pleads guilty to federal bank fraud and tax charges in scheme
that netted nearly $6 million. A former licensed insurance agent and owner
of Hamilton Brewart Insurance Agency in Upland, California, pleaded guilty
February 2 to charges of bank fraud and filing false tax returns after he
secured over $5.9 million in loans to pay for his insurance company’s expenses
from Universal Bank in his clients’ names without their knowledge or
authorization from at least 2008 through 2012. Source: http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2015/release013-15.cfm
For another story, see item 19 below in the Information Technology Sector
Information Technology Sector
17. February
5, Softpedia – (International) Flash Player 16.0.0.305 patches zero-day
vulnerability. Adobe released an update for its Flash Player affecting
version 16.0.0.296 and earlier versions for Windows and Macintosh that fixes a
zero-day vulnerability reported by Trend Micro researchers. The vulnerability
was leveraged by attackers through the Hanjuan exploit kit in malvertising
campaigns on popular Web sites targeting Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox
users. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Flash-Player-16-0-0-305-Patches-Zero-Day-Vulnerability-472199.shtml
18. February
5, Softpedia – (International) Kovter trojan distributed via malvertising on
Huffington Post. AOL removed malicious content from its network after
Cyphort researchers discovered the spread of a previously observed malvertising
campaign which delivers the Kovter trojan for ad-fraud to popular Web sites
through three advertising networks. The researchers also found that this
campaign utilizes different command and control (C&C) servers. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Kovter-Trojan-Distributed-Via-Malvertising-on-Huffington-Post-472310.shtml
19. February
4, Reuters – (International) Accused Silk Road operator convicted on U.S.
drug charges. A federal jury convicted the suspected founder of the underground
Silk Road Web site February 4 on several charges, including conspiracies to
commit money laundering, computer hacking, and drug trafficking for his role in
an approximately $200 million anonymous online drug sale scheme involving
Bitcoins. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/05/us-usa-bitcoin-trial-idUSKBN0L82H920150205
For another story, see item 7 above in Top Stories
Communications Sector
20. February 5, Associated
Press – (Texas) 1 dead after plane crashes into west Texas TV
tower. The Federal Aviation Administration reported February 4 that the
pilot of a single-engine plane approaching Preston Smith International Airport
in west Texas died after it crashed into an 814-foot TV tower owned by KCBD 11
Lubbock, knocking the station off air and cutting power to the surrounding neighborhood.
The KCBD building was evacuated as a precaution, and the station came back on
air February 5 after it transferred its broadcasting to a different location.
Source: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/1-dead-after-plane-crashes-into-west-texas-tv-tower/ar-AA90rey
21. February 4, Portland
Oregonian – (Oregon) Phone service restored in Forest Grove area
after outage affects more than 1,200 customers. Phone service was restored
to areas of Washington County after an outage that was reported by Frontier
Communications February 4 kept customers in the areas of Gales Creek, Glenwood,
and Tanner Creek from using a landline to call 9-1-1. Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/forest-grove/index.ssf/2015/02/phone_service_restored_in_fore.html