Tuesday, October 13, 2015



Complete DHS Report for October 13, 2015

Daily Report                                            

Top Stories

 • An October 8 explosion at a Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company-owned natural gas pipeline in Gibson, Louisiana, killed three workers and injured two others. – WDSU 6 New Orleans

1. October 8, WDSU 6 New Orleans – (Louisiana) Police: 3 dead, 2 in serious condition after Gibson plant explosion. An October 8 explosion at a Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company-owned natural gas pipeline in Gibson, Louisiana, killed three workers and injured two others. Company officials stated that the pipeline was not operational during the incident, and that the cause of the explosion remains under investigation.

 • Officials worked to preserve water in Columbia, South Carolina, October 8 after a canal that serves as the main source of drinking water for about 375,000 customers collapsed in 2 places following recent storms and flooding. – Associated Press  

12. October 8, Associated Press – (South Carolina) After the flood, a rush to preserve drinking water. Officials worked to preserve water in Columbia, South Carolina, October 8 after a canal that serves as the main source of drinking water for about 375,000 customers collapsed in 2 places following recent storms and flooding, forcing crews to build a rock dam to plug holes, drop sandbags into rushing waters, and place orange pumps on the banks of the canal to pump water into the reservoir. Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/receding-floodwaters-lead-homecoming-heartbreak-34333048

 • Police took a gunman into custody after one person was killed and three others were injured when the suspect attacked students in a parking lot next to the Mountain View residence hall at Northern Arizona University at Flagstaff October 9. – CNN

13. October 9, CNN – (Arizona) Northern Arizona University shooting followed confrontation, police say. Police took a gunman into custody after one person was killed and three others were injured when the suspect attacked students in a parking lot next to the Mountain View residence hall at Northern Arizona University at Flagstaff October 9. Officials alleged that the shooting was the result of a confrontation between two groups of students. Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/09/us/northern-arizona-university-shooting/index.html

 • Grant Public Utility District reported October 8 that six employees were injured in an explosion at Priest Rapids Dam in Central Washington due to faulty electrical equipment. – Associated Press

19. October 8, Associated Press – (Washington) 6 utility employees injured in Washington state dam explosion on Columbia River. Grant Public Utility District reported October 8 that six employees were injured in an explosion at Priest Rapids Dam in Central Washington due to faulty electrical equipment. The structure of the dam is stable and officials reported there were no threats to the public. Source: http://www.570news.com/2015/10/08/6-utility-employees-injured-in-washington-state-dam-explosion-on-columbia-river/

Financial Services Sector

4. October 8, Associated Press – (National) Ex-TD Bank executive pleads guilty to role in Ponzi scheme. A former Toronto-Dominion Bank executive pleaded guilty October 8 to wire fraud conspiracy for his role in a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors by promising profits from confidential legal settlements that did not exist. The suspect signed “lock letters” assuring investors that their funds were secure in bank accounts, and instead used the money for personal use.Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/ex-td-bank-executive-pleads-guilty-to-role-in-ponzi-scheme-1444317265

Information Technology Sector

16. October 9, Help Net Security – (International) Attackers compromise Cisco Web VPNs to steal login credentials, backdoor target networks. Security researchers from Volexity discovered that attackers are continuing to leverage unpatched vulnerabilities or finding ways to gain administrator access to networks via Cisco Clientless secure sockets layer (SSL) virtual private network (VPN) portals in order to harvest employee credentials by injecting malicious JavaScript code on login pages to the VPN. The attackers are reportedly targeting academic institutions, medical facilities, electronics and manufacturing businesses, and government organizations.Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=18958

17. October 9, Softpedia – (International) WordPress XML-RPC service used to amplify brute-force attacks. Security researchers from Sucuri discovered a variation of brute-force attacks that is utilizing WordPress’ built-in extensible markup language remote procedure call (XML-RPC) feature to amplify attacks by bundling together hundreds and thousands of administrative username and password combinations. Researchers recommend deleting the plugin if it is not being used.Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/wordpress-xml-rpc-service-used-to-amplify-brute-force-attacks-494170.shtml

Communications Sector

Nothing to report