Wednesday, September 28, 2016



Complete DHS Report for September 28, 2016

Daily Report                                            

Top Stories

• Volkswagen Group issued a recall September 26 for 79,895 of its model years 2015 – 2017 Audi vehicles in select makes due to a glitch affecting the side marker lights, which may decrease visibility. – TheCarConnection.com

1. September 26, TheCarConnection.com – (National) Audi recalls A3, A3 e-tron, A4, Q3, Q7, TT for lighting problem: nearly 80,000 cars affected. Volkswagen Group issued a recall September 26 for 79,895 of its model years 2015 – 2017 Audi vehicles in select makes sold in the U.S. due to a software glitch affecting the vehicles’ side marker lights, which may become inoperative when a car’s parking light or headlights are illuminated, thereby making it more difficult for a driver to see and increasing the risk of a crash. Source: http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1106305_audi-recalls-a3-a3-e-tron-a4-q3-q7-tt-for-lighting-problem-nearly-80000-cars-affected

• A former tax preparer at K&S Tax Solution, Inc. was convicted September 23 for her role in a fraudulent tax refund scheme where she and 14 co-conspirators attempted to recieve more than $281 million in fraudulent Federal tax returns since 2010. – U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York See item 3 below in the Financial Services Sector

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged the former chief executive officer of Sanomedics Inc. and Fun Cool Free Inc., and a co-conspirator September 26 for their roles in a penny stock scheme that defrauded several hundred investors nationwide out of approximately $20 million. – U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission See item 5 below in the Financial Services Sector

• A 2-alarm fire at the Oak Springs Apartments in San Antonio, Texas, September 26 displaced 32 people and damaged 24 units. – KSAT 12 San Antonio

25. September 26, KSAT 12 San Antonio – (Texas) Fire causes significant damage to NE side apartment complex. A 2-alarm fire displaced 32 people from the Oak Springs Apartments in San Antonio, Texas, September 26 and damaged 24 units. No injuries were reported and officials believe the fire began in an electrical outlet on the second or third floor. Source: http://www.ksat.com/news/firefighters-battle-2-alarm-apartment-fire-on-ne-side

Financial Services Sector

3. September 26, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York – (National) Bronx tax preparer found guilty of participation in scheme to steal millions using fraudulent tax returns. A former tax preparer at K&S Tax Solution, Inc. (K&S) was convicted September 23 for her role in a more than $19 million fraudulent tax refund scheme where she and 14 co-conspirators filed fraudulent tax returns using identities stolen from Puerto Rico residents, including the identities of patients at a medical clinic in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in order to obtain fraudulent refunds through wire transfers and in check form since 2010. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service identified more than $281 million in attempted fraudulent returns. Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/bronx-tax-preparer-found-guilty-participation-scheme-steal-millions-using-fraudulent

4. September 26, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – (International) Merrill Lynch charged with trading controls failures that led to mini-flash crashes. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced September 26 that Merrill Lynch Wealth Management agreed to pay a $12.5 million penalty after an SEC investigation revealed that the firm caused market disruptions at least 15 times from 2012 – 2014, and violated the Market Access Rule after the firm set its internal controls that prevent incorrect trading orders at high levels, making them ineffective and causing select stock prices to plunge then suddenly recover. As part of the settlement, Merrill Lynch agreed to be censured and is prohibited from further violations of the Securities Exchange Act. Source: https://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2016-192.html

5. September 26, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – (National) SEC charges CEO and boiler room operator with fraud. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged September 26 the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Sanomedics Inc. and Fun Cool Free Inc., and a boiler room operator for their roles in a penny stock scheme that defrauded several hundred investors nationwide out of approximately $20 million after boiler-room agents hired by the pair pressured senior citizens and others to invest in the former CEO’s 2 companies by claiming the investors’ funds would be used for research and development, while the money was used for personal expenses and to pay the boiler-room agents. Officials stated the duo agreed to be barred from subsequent penny stock offerings, and the former executive agreed to be barred from operating as an officer or director of a public business. Source: https://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2016-193.html

Information Technology Sector

20. September 27, SecurityWeek – (International) Russian cyberspies use “Komplex” trojan to target OS X systems. Palo Alto Networks discovered an Apple Mac operating system (OS) X trojan, dubbed Komplex establishes contact with its command and control (C&C) server after infecting a device in order to collect system information, and allows an attacker to execute arbitrary commands and download files to the affected machine. The researchers stated Komplex has reportedly been used by a Russian cyber espionage group known as Sofacy to target the U.S. government, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and the German parliament. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/russian-cyberspies-use-komplex-trojan-target-os-x-systems

21. September 26, SecurityWeek – (International) Microsoft removes Windows Journal due to security flaws. Microsoft removed the Windows Journal application available in Windows versions from XP Tablet PC edition through Windows 10 after researchers discovered about a dozen denial-of-service (DoS) flaws, remote code execution vulnerabilities, and a heap overflow issue discovered by a Fortinet researcher which could cause the application to crash. Microsoft advised customers to switch to OneNote. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/microsoft-removes-windows-journal-due-security-flaws

22. September 26, SecurityWeek – (International) OpenSSL patch for low severity issue creates critical flaw. OpenSSL released version 1.1.0b after it was discovered that a low severity denial-of-service (DoS) patched in OpenSSL 1.1.0a created a critical use-after-free vulnerability associated with large message sizes which could lead to arbitrary code execution or cause a system to crash. OpenSSL developers also released version 1.0.2j resolving a missing certificate revocation list (CRL) sanity check flaw in version 1.0.2i. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/openssl-patch-low-severity-issue-creates-critical-flaw

For additional stories, see item 5 above in the Financial Services Sector and item 17 below in the Communications Sector

Communications Sector

See item 17 below from the Government Facilities Sector

17. September 26, SecurityWeek – (International) New MarsJoke ransomware targets government agencies. Proofpoint security researchers reported a new ransomware variant, dubbed MarsJoke was primarily targeting State and local government agencies, as well as primary and secondary educational institutions via spam email campaigns fueled by the Kelihos botnet that mimic the style of CTB-Locker and changes the victim’s desktop background before displaying a ransom message in several different languages. Proofpoint researchers also found the malware was targeting healthcare, telecommunications, and insurance companies, among others, in smaller numbers.