Thursday, September 8, 2016



Complete DHS Report for September 8, 2016

Daily Report                                            

Top Stories

• A Greenville, Texas-based tax preparer pleaded guilty September 6 to preparing and filing approximately 1,163 fraudulent income tax returns for clients, thereby causing the U.S. more than $1 million in losses. – U.S. Department of Justice

4. September 6, U.S. Department of Justice – (Texas) Texas woman pleads guilty to preparing false tax returns. A Greenville, Texas-based tax preparer operating under the names TX ASAP Tax Services and Fiesta Tax Service pleaded guilty September 6 to preparing and filing approximately 1,163 fraudulent income tax returns for clients, including false credits and deductions, as well as fraudulent business income and losses in order to produce inflated returns, thereby causing the U.S. more than $1 million in losses. Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/texas-woman-pleads-guilty-preparing-false-tax-returns

• Officials in Kure Beach, North Carolina, reported September 6 that approximately 5,000 gallons of wastewater spilled onto Fort Fisher Boulevard and flowed into the Atlantic Ocean due to an equipment failure. – PortCityDaily.com

17. September 6, PortCityDaily.com – (North Carolina) 5,000 gallons of wastewater spilled in Kure Beach. Officials in Kure Beach, North Carolina, reported September 6 that approximately 5,000 gallons of wastewater spilled onto Fort Fisher Boulevard at H Avenue and flowed into the Atlantic Ocean due to an equipment failure. Source: http://portcitydaily.com/2016/09/06/5000-gallons-of-wastewater-spilled-in-kure-beach/

• Augusta, Georgia officials announced September 6 that 1,628,000 gallons of highly diluted wastewater leaked into Butler Creek in Augusta September 2 due to heavy rainfall from Tropical Strom Hermine. – WRDW 12 Augusta/WAGT 26 Augusta

19. September 6, WRDW 12 Augusta/WAGT 26 Augusta – (Georgia) More than 1 million gallons of diluted wastewater overflowed into Butler Creek. The Augusta Utilities Department announced September 6 that 1,628,000 gallons of highly diluted wastewater leaked into Butler Creek in Augusta, Georgia, September 2 due to heavy rainfall from Tropical Strom Hermine. Crews corrected the overflow. Source: http://www.wrdw.com/content/news/More-than-1-million-gallons-of-diluted-wastewater-overflowed-into-Butler-Creek-392500281.html

• More than 60 residents were displaced for several hours September 5 – September 6 from the Spruce Lodge motel in Colorado Springs, Colorado, after Colorado Springs Utilities officials detected high readings of natural gas in the area. – KKTV 11 Colorado Springs

24. September 6, KKTV 11 Colorado Springs – (Colorado) Dozens evacuated after gas leak at motel. More than 60 residents were displaced for several hours September 5 – September 6 from the Spruce Lodge motel in Colorado Springs, Colorado, after Colorado Springs Utilities officials detected high readings of natural gas in the area. Utility crews shut off the gas supply to the facility and HAZMAT crews ventilated the motel. Source: http://www.kktv.com/content/news/Dozens-evacuated-after-gas-leak-at-motel-392429021.html

Financial Services Sector

4. September 6, U.S. Department of Justice – (Texas) Texas woman pleads guilty to preparing false tax returns. A Greenville, Texas-based tax preparer operating under the names TX ASAP Tax Services and Fiesta Tax Service pleaded guilty September 6 to preparing and filing approximately 1,163 fraudulent income tax returns for clients, including false credits and deductions, as well as fraudulent business income and losses in order to produce inflated returns, thereby causing the U.S. more than $1 million in losses. Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/texas-woman-pleads-guilty-preparing-false-tax-returns

Information Technology Sector

20. September 6, SecurityWeek – (International) Cry ransomware uses Google Maps to find victim locations. BleepingComputer researchers discovered a new piece of ransomware, dubbed Cry or CSTO, as it pretends to come from a fake group called the Central Security Treatment Organization, was using public Websites to host information about victims, and could determine a victim’s location by using a nearby wireless service set identifier (SSID) to query the Google Maps application programming interface (API). Researchers also spotted the malware encrypting the victim’s files and deleting Shadow Volume Copies to prevent users from restoring their files.

For another story, see item 21 below in the Communications Sector

Communications Sector

21. September 7, SecurityWeek – (International) Several vulnerabilities found in Fortinet load balancers. The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) Coordination Center reported that Virgoteam security researchers discovered Fortinet’s FortiWAN network load balancer appliances were plagued with five vulnerabilities, including a flaw that could allow an authenticated attacker with non-admin privileges to inject arbitrary operating system (OS) commands and execute them with root privileges, and several information exposure vulnerabilities that could allow a malicious actor with low-privileges to access administrator login cookies and a backup of the device’s configuration, among other vulnerabilities. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/several-vulnerabilities-found-fortinet-load-balancers