Thursday, September 3, 2015




Complete DHS Report for September 3, 2015

Daily Report                                            

Top Stories


 • Approximately 50,000 Phoenix residents were still without power September 1, down from the original 70,000 which lost power August 31 following severe weather which swept through the area. – Associated Press

3. September 1, Associated Press – (Arizona) Tens of thousands without power after monsoon storm hits Phoenix area, damages buildings, cars. Approximately 50,000 Phoenix residents were still without power September 1, down from the original 70,000 which lost power August 31 following severe weather which swept through the area. Flooding temporarily closed roads, disabled traffic lights, and caused at least one accident when a semi-truck collided with a car on Interstate 10, causing several schools to close September 1.Source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/09/01/tens-thousands-without-power-after-monsoon-storm-hits-phoenix-area-damages/

 • The First National Bank in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas announced August 31 that it had been the victim of employee fraud or theft, resulting in the loss of $3.9 million. – Arkansas Democrat-Gazette See item 8 below in the Financial Services Sector

 • Highway 287 in Tennessee between Memphis and Childress was shut down overnight September 1 while HAZMAT crews cleared a hazardous chemical spill that occurred after a semi-truck spilled 1,500 gallons of a chemical. – KFDA 10 Amarillo

10. September 2, KFDA 10 Amarillo – (Tennessee) HAZMAT spill cleared, Highway 287 between Memphis and Childress remains closed. Highway 287 between Memphis and Childress was shut down overnight September 1 while HAZMAT crews worked to clear a hazardous chemical spill that occurred after a semi-truck spilled 1,500 gallons of a chemical used to make PVC pipes. A voluntary evacuation order was issued. Source: http://www.newschannel10.com/story/29932569/update-hazmat-spill-shuts-down-us-287

 • Fire crews continued to battle 65 large wildfires burning across the U.S. following a September 1 update by the National Interagency Fire Center which found that over 8 million acres of land has been burned in U.S. wildfires in 2015. – Washington Post

19. September 2, Washington Post – (National) Wildfires have now burned a massive 8 million acres across the U.S. Fire crews continued to battle 65 large wildfires burning across the U.S. following a September 1 update by the National Interagency Fire Center which found that over 8 million acres of land has been burned in U.S. wildfires in 2015. Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/09/01/wildfires-have-now-burned-a-massive-8-million-acres-across-the-u-s-this-year/

Financial Services Sector

6. September 2, Baton Rouge Advocate – (Louisiana) Consumers advised to check bills after credit card ‘skimming gadget’ found hidden in Baton Rouge gas station pump. A fraudulent card-reading device was found inside a Shell gas station pump at the corner of Tom Drive and Airline Highway in Baton Rouge August 31, the third device found within the area in the past 2 months. Investigators advised customers to check credit card statements for suspicious activity.Source: http://theadvocate.com/home/13331425-125/consumers-advised-to-check-bills

7. September 1, AL.com – (Alabama) Heflin police uncover 180 credit/debit cards, ID theft tools during traffic stop. A Heflin police officer uncovered approximately 180 credit and debit cards, several fake drivers licenses, 3 laptops, a credit card encoder, a credit card embosser, fake checks, and several other potential identity theft tools during a traffic stop September 1. The case has been turned over to the U.S. Secret Service. Source: http://www.al.com/news/anniston-gadsden/index.ssf/2015/09/heflin_police_uncover_180_cred.html

8. September 1, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette – (Arkansas) Lost $3.9M from fraud, bank reveals. The First National Bank in Walnut Ridge announced August 31 that it had been the victim of employee fraud or theft, resulting in the loss of $3.9 million. An investigation into the culprit is ongoing and officials believe the incident occurred over an extended period of time.Source: http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/sep/01/lost-3-9m-from-fraud-bank-reveals-20150/?f=latest

9. September 1, Grand Rapids Press – (Michigan) Man admits $279K theft from employer in wire fraud plea. A former employee of Grand Rapids-based IGA Abrasives LLC pleaded guilty to wire fraud September 1 in connection with the theft of $279,000 through fraudulent receipt submissions claiming reimbursement to IGA’s parent company, South Carolina-based S.L. Munson & Company, between January 2010 and November 2013. Source: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/09/man_admits_279k_theft_from_emp.html

Information Technology Sector

21. September 2, Securityweek – (International) Siemens patches vulnerability in RUGGEDCOM switches. Siemens released a firmware update addressing a vulnerability in the ROS operating system (OS) running on some RUGGEDCOM switches, which an attacker with access to a virtual local area network (VLAN) could exploit to bypass isolation and access devices on another VLAN. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/siemens-patches-vulnerability-ruggedcom-switches

22. September 2, Securityweek – (International) Mobile gaming apps expose enterprise data: report. Veracode released findings from a report on gambling applications installed on mobile devices in corporate environments revealing that many gambling applications leave enterprise environments vulnerable to man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks, Remote Access Trojans (RATs), fake certificates, and other types of attacks. The report attributed the vulnerabilities to applications’ use of weak encryption and pre-loaded adware. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/mobile-gambling-apps-expose-enterprise-data-report

23. September 2, Softpedia – (International) Future Firefox, Chrome, IE, and Edge releases will not support RC4 encryption. Google, Mozilla, and Microsoft announced that RC4 encryption algorithm support will be removed from the companies’ Web browsers by late February 2016. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/future-firefox-chrome-ie-and-edge-releases-will-not-support-rc4-encryption-490704.shtml

24. September 2, Securityweek – (International) Google patches 29 vulnerabilities with release of Chrome 45. Google released Chrome 45 for Windows, Mac, and Linux, addressing 29 security issues including cross-origin bypass and use-after-free-flaws, a character spoofing bug in the Omnibox address bar, and other-medium impact vulnerabilities. The update also disabled automatic Adobe Flash plugin ad support. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/google-patches-29-vulnerabilities-release-chrome-45

Communications Sector
 
25 September 1, KSLA 12 Shreveport – (Louisiana) Thousands back online in Shreveport, Monroe after Comcast outage. A Comcast outage left thousands of customers in Shreveport without Internet or phone service after a bush hogging crew in Mississippi accidentally cut two fiber lines September 1. Customers in Monroe, Louisiana, were also affected by the outage.