Complete DHS Report for
April 21, 2015
Daily Report
Top Stories
· The U.S.
Department of Transportation announced an emergency order April 17, making it a
requirement for trains carrying crude oil and other flammable liquids to reduce
speeds to no more than 40 mph in urban areas, in addition to several other
requirements. – Associated Press
11. April
17, Associated Press – (National) Transportation Department
issues safety measures for trains hauling oil, flammable liquids. The U.S.
Department of Transportation announced an emergency order April 17 to help
improve safety measures for trains, making it a requirement for trains carrying
crude oil and other flammable liquids to reduce speeds to no more than 40 mph
in urban areas. The department also issued an advisory to railroads to
strengthen its procedures for checking flaws in train wheels, among other
requirements. Source: http://www.newser.com/article/bb3750a7e17e47a79157355e04ec27d9/transportation-department-issues-safety-measures-for-trains-hauling-oil-flammable-liquids.html
· Crews
reached 35 percent containment of a wildfire April 19 that burned through 1.6
square miles and prompted the evacuation of about 300 homes along the border of
the cities of Norco and Corona in California. – CBS News; Associated Press (See
item 20)
20. April 20,
CBS News; Associated Press – (California) Cooking fire blamed for
“explosive” California wildfire. The California Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection announced April 19 that an unattended cooking fire sparked a
wildfire that burned through 1.6 square miles and prompted the evacuation of
about 300 homes along the border of the cities of Norco and Corona. Crews
reached 35 percent containment of the fire that also burned in the Prado Dam
Flood Control Basin. Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cooking-fire-blamed-for-explosive-california-wildfire/
· The FBI
and the U.S. Department of Justice acknowledged that nearly every investigator
in the FBI’s microscopic hair comparison forensic unit gave flawed testimony
favoring prosecutors in hundreds of trials for more than two decades prior to
2000. – Washington Post
22. April
20, Washington Post – (National) FBI admits flaws in hair
analysis over decades. The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice
acknowledged that nearly every investigator in the FBI’s microscopic hair
comparison forensic unit gave flawed testimony favoring prosecutors in hundreds
of trials for more than two decades prior to 2000. The FBI and the U.S.
Department of Justice are continuing their investigations and are working to
notify all defendants affected by the errors. Source: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fbi-admits-flaws-in-hair-analysis-over-decades/ar-AAbgTt6
·
At least 6 businesses in Belmont, Massachusetts, suffered damage or were
destroyed by a 3-alarm fire April 18 that caused over $1 million in damages. – Boston
Globe (See item 28)
28. April 20,
Boston Globe – (Massachusetts) Fire destroys one Belmont business, damages
others. At least 6 businesses in Belmont, Massachusetts, suffered damage or
were destroyed by a 3-alarm fire that broke out inside a convenience store
April 18 and spread throughout the structure and into adjacent businesses. The
cause of the fire remains under investigation, and damage was estimated to
total more than $1 million. Source: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/04/19/fire-causes-million-damage-belmont-businesses/u672mqnXY7J1Q7wXBJuqCP/story.html
Financial Services Sector
7. April 20,
SC Magazine – (Indiana) Data at risk for 9,000 individuals following
unauthorized access to SRI Inc. website. Indiana-based SRI Incorporated
notified approximately 9,000 individuals that their personal information, as
well as tax identification numbers, bank account and routing numbers, and
Social Security numbers, may have been breached after new files were added to
the software behind the company’s auction Web site, enabling unauthorized
access to users to post and delete files. The company is investigating the
incident and removed all personal information from its system. Source: http://www.scmagazine.com/data-at-risk-for-9000-individuals-following-unauthorized-access-to-sri-inc-website/article/409793/
8. April 17,
Los Angeles Business Journal – (California) True religion
subcontractors charged with insurance fraud. The California Department of
Insurance charged three subcontractors of True Religion Brand Jeans, who were
the heads of garment factories Meriko Inc., and SF Apparel Inc., along with
their accountant, for alleged compensation insurance fraud totaling over $11
million in losses. The group reportedly conspired to avoid paying workers’
compensation insurance premiums and underreported $78.5 million in payroll to
several insurers, including the State Compensation Insurance Fund. Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2015/04/17/true-religion-subcontractors-charged-with.html?page=all
For another story, see item 26 below in the Information Technology Sector
Information Technology Sector
25. April 20, Softpedia – (International) Russian
hackers exploit Windows, Flash Player zero-day flaws in targeted attack. Microsoft
is working to patch a privilege escalation flaw in its operating system (OS)
affecting Windows 7 and earlier products after FireEye researchers reported the
zero-day attack, allegedly run by a Russian group dubbed APT28, on Adobe Flash
Player that relies on the Flash vulnerability to gain access to the targeted
system. Adobe released a patch addressing the flaw with its current version of
Flash Player. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Russian-Hackers-Exploit-Windows-Flash-Player-Zero-Day-Flaws-in-Targeted-Attack-478836.shtml
26. April 20, Softpedia – (International) New
variant of Upatre malware downloader integrates full SSL encryption. Talos
researchers discovered new versions of the Upatre malware that adopts encrypted
communication with command and control (C&C) servers, including a version
that uses secure sockets layer (SSL) cryptographic protocol to hide the type of
data flowing between the infected client and the C&C server. The new
version of the malware downloads the payload in the background while the
communication is encrypted. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/New-Variant-of-Upatre-Malware-Downloader-Integrates-Full-SSL-Encryption-478845.shtml
Communications Sector
27. April 19, Austin
American-Statesmen – (Texas) Storms knock 3 Austin TV stations
off the air. KXAN 36 Austin, KNVA 54 Austin, and KBVO 14 Austin were
knocked off air for several hours April 18-19 due to a power outage prompted by
heavy storms in central Texas. Source: http://tvradio.blog.austin360.com/2015/04/19/storms-knock-3-austin-tv-stations-off-the-air/