Wednesday, September 9, 2015



Complete DHS Report for September 9, 2015

Daily Report                                            

Top Stories

 • A section of U.S. Highway 287 near Memphis, Texas, reopened September 3 after it was closed September 1 while crews cleaned up 2,640 gallons of a toxic chemical mixture that spilled from an overturned semi-truck. – Amarillo Globe-News

10. September 4, Amarillo Globe-News – (Texas) U.S. Highway 287 now open, spill cleanup continues. A section of U.S. Highway 287 near Memphis was reopened September 3 after it was closed September 1 while crews cleaned up 2,640 gallons of a chemical mixture of lead, calcium-zinc, and Rea Tin 4435 that spilled from an overturned semi-truck. Source: http://amarillo.com/news/latest-news/2015-09-04/us-highway-287-reopened-spill-cleanup-continues

 • Crews reached 31 percent containment September 8 of the 95,884-acre Rough Fire burning in California. – KFSN 30 Fresno

15. September 8, KFSN 30 Fresno – (California) Rough Fire forces new mandatory evacuations. Crews reached 31 percent containment September 8 of the 95,884-acre Rough Fire burning in California. The sheriff’s office ordered additional mandatory evacuations while several campgrounds remained closed until further notice. Source: http://abc30.com/news/rough-fire-forces-new-mandatory-evacuations/973554/

 • Kaspersky Lab released an update addressing a flaw affecting certain versions of its antivirus products, while another security researcher identified several vulnerabilities in FireEye products, including a command injection and login bypass bug. – Securityweek  See item 24 below in the Information Technology Sector

 • Security researchers found that hackers were using the Neutrino Exploit Kit (EK) to inject malicious scripts into outdated Webserver software that could potentially impact 400 million users. – SC Magazine See item 25 below in the Information Technology Sector

Financial Services Sector

3. September 4, Reuters – (International) Credit Suisse to pay $288 million in damages in Lake Las Vegas refinancing. Credit Suisse Group AG was ordered to pay $287.5 million in damages by a Texas district court to an affiliate of Highland Capital Management following an event in which the Zurich-based bank was found to have used inflated appraisals to convince the affiliate to refinance Lake Las Vegas resort in 2007. The Nevada resort community filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/05/us-credit-suisse-gp-highland-verdict-idUSKCN0R502120150905

Information Technology Sector

22. September 8, Help Net Security – (International) Vulnerabilities in WhatsApp web affect 200 million users globally. WhatsApp patched a vulnerability discovered by Check Point researchers that could potentially allow hackers to execute malware on the devices via sending the user a malicious vCard contact card containing an executable file ordering it to distribute ransomware, bots, remote access tools (RAT), and other types of malicious codes. Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=18828

23. September 8, Securityweek – (International) Webroot, Avira patch flaws in mobile security apps. Webroot and Avira Mobile Security released separate patches addressing vulnerabilities including, a secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate vulnerability for Webroot Mobile Protection for iOS versions 1.10.316 and prior that could have allowed a man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacker to obtain usernames, passwords, and other sensitive information. Avira Mobile Security patched a vulnerability on versions 1.5.7 and prior that allowed a MitM attacker to capture login information via an HTTP POST request. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/webroot-avira-patch-flaws-mobile-security-apps

24. September 7, Securityweek – (International) Kaspersky patches critical vulnerability in antivirus products. Kaspersky Lab released an update addressing a flaw affecting 2015 – 2016 versions of its antivirus products related to a buffer overflow vulnerability affecting the application’s default configuration that could allow a successful exploit. A security researcher identified several vulnerabilities in FireEye products, including a command injection and login bypass bug that is being addressed by FireEye officials. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/kaspersky-patches-critical-vulnerability-antivirus-products

25. September 7, SC Magazine – (International) Ransomware risk from over 140 million websites, researchers warn. Security researchers found that hackers were using the Neutrino Exploit Kit (EK) to inject malicious scripts into outdated Webserver software that could potentially impact 400 million users that use 142 million legitimate Web sites running out of date versions of the WordPress content management system or outdated plugins. Source: http://www.scmagazineuk.com/ransomware-risk-from-over-140-million-websites-researcher-warns/article/437202/

26. September 7, Softpedia – (International) Android pornography app takes pictures of users and blackmails them for cash. Zscaler researchers discovered an Android app dubbed Adult Player that is used as a platform to deliver ransomware to mobile device users by secretly taking the user’s picture while it loads an Android application package (APK) file where the malware code is hosted. The photograph is used inside the ransom message. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/android-pornography-app-takes-pictures-of-users-and-blackmails-them-for-cash-491128.shtml

27. September 5, Softpedia – (International) Mozilla bug tracker hacked, data about Firefox vulnerabilities stolen. Mozilla’s bug tracker, Bugzilla, forced users with access to the bug tracker’s private section to change their passwords while cutting down access to the section after engineers found that the bug tracking application was compromised, and that an attacker used a privileged account to gain access to information about unpatched Firefox vulnerabilities. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/mozilla-bug-tracker-hacked-data-about-firefox-vulnerabilities-stolen-490980.shtml

Communications Sector

28. September 4, Ukiah Daily Journal – (California) Cell phone, internet service down throughout Mendocino County after cable cut. Mendocino County officials reported that cell, landline, and Internet services for customers were expected to be restored September 4 after a 15-hour outage that began September 3 when a fiber optic cable was cut near Retech. Source: http://www.dailydemocrat.com/general-news/20150904/cell-phone-internet-service-down-throughout-mendocino-county-after-cable-cut/1