Thursday, October 23, 2008
Complete DHS Daily Report for October 23, 2008
Daily Report
Headlines
Dark Reading reports that energy companies worldwide experienced more Web-based malware attacks than any other vertical market in the third quarter of this year, with an increased rate of exposure of 189 percent, according to the new “Global Threat Report” from ScanSafe. (See item 2)
2. October 21, Dark Reading – (International) Report: Energy companies are top target of web-borne malware. According to the new “Global Threat Report” from ScanSafe, energy companies worldwide have a nearly 200 percent rate of being hit with Web-borne malware attacks. Energy companies experienced more Web-based malware attacks than any other vertical market in the third quarter of this year, with an increased rate of exposure of 189 percent. Overall, corporations experienced 338 percent more Web-based malware in the third quarter versus the first quarter, and 553 percent more than in the fourth quarter of last year, the report says. ScanSafe attributes this jump to the wave of SQL injection attacks that have hit websites over the past few months, as well as socially engineered email. Most of the malware came from legitimate sites. As for the types of malware, backdoor and password-stealing Trojans increased by 267 percent from January to September. Source: http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=166407
According to the Associated Press, federal regulators and Entergy Nuclear officials say they are investigating a release of radioactive contaminants at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vermont that led to a brief evacuation of 25 workers. The release occurred Monday while the cover of a reactor vessel was being removed for refueling. (See item 6)
6. October 22, Associated Press – (Vermont) Brief evacuation at nuke power plant after leak. Federal regulators and utility officials say they are investigating a release of radioactive contaminants at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vermont that led to a brief evacuation of 25 workers. A spokesman for the utility Entergy Nuclear says the release occurred Monday while the cover of a reactor vessel was being removed for refueling. He says the cover was placed too close to a fan that spread airborne contaminants. He says the workers were evacuated from the top floor of the reactor building but returned about four hours later after they were checked for exposure to radiation. The release occurred during the power plant’s regular refueling and maintenance outage, which is scheduled to last three weeks. A U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman says the agency is investigating. Source: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/10/22/ap5590856.html
Details
Banking and Finance Sector
12. October 22, American Banker – (National) $4.4 billion deposit sparks FDIC-Wamu dispute. A fight may be brewing between the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Washington Mutual Inc. over claims by debt holders of the thrift holding company and its two failed subsidiaries. At issue is $4.4 billion that Wamu deposited in its two thrifts before their September 25 failure and forced sale to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Wamu, which declared bankruptcy a day later, wants a judge to approve the transfer of the funds from JPMorgan Chase to the bankruptcy estate, which is used to compensate the holding company’s creditors. But the FDIC, in a motion filed Monday in the Delaware district of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, asked a judge to stay the transfer. The agency said it may conclude that the funds belong in the receivership of the thrifts, not the holding company, and should be used to compensate the subsidiaries’ senior unsecured debt holders. The court filing did not argue the FDIC deserved the funds, only asking for the judge to delay the transfer of funds. Source: http://www.onwallstreet.com/asset/article/724351/44-billion-deposit-sparks-fdic-wamu-dispute.html?pg
13. October 22, Monday – (International) SEC adopts foreign issuer reporting enhancements. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued its final rules relating to the reporting requirements of foreign private issuers (FPIs). These new rules, based on proposals that the SEC issued earlier this year, contain a mix of provisions, some of which help FPIs or add minor burdens to their reporting requirements. Others, such as the new Form 20-F filing deadline and the requirement to provide an Item 18 reconciliation to U.S. GAAP, will be more burdensome to many FPIs. As to these latter requirements, the SEC is providing for relatively long transitional periods before compliance with these new rules becomes mandatory. Source: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=67984
14. October 21, Financial Times – (National) Fed offers $540bn to prop up money funds. The U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday said it would finance up to $540bn in purchases of short-term debt from money market mutual funds to shore up a key pillar of the U.S. financial system. Policymakers are worried that moves to prop up US banks may have undermined money funds, which compete with bank savings accounts. Under the scheme the U.S. central bank will lend money to five special purpose vehicles, to be managed by JP Morgan Chase, tasked with purchasing assets from money market funds. These assets are low-risk paper, including certificates of deposit, bank notes and commercial paper with three-month maturities or less. The creation of an extra liquidity facility on Tuesday was seen as complementing a move the Fed announced two weeks ago to create a vehicle aimed at purchasing potentially unlimited amounts of three-month debt from banks and non-financial companies. Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4da5eebc-9f83-11dd-a3fa-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1
Information Technology
37. October 22, VNUNet.com – (International) Risky behavior still looms large. Many employees are continuing to behave in a way that puts company data at risk, according to a recent survey commissioned by Cisco. It asked a number of employees in the Americas, Europe and Asia about their general computing practices in comparison to their company’s IT policies. The study found that potentially risky behavior, such as downloading files for personal use or deliberately modifying system security settings, remains prevalent. The numbers were highest in China and Brazil, while figures in the U.K. and U.S. were lower than the average. The survey found that IT administrators are generally aware of the problem, although few are worried about the risk of data loss. On average, 55 percent of IT decision makers believed that employees were running unapproved applications on company machines. However, 24 percent believe that unapproved programs did not account for any data leaks, while 53 percent believe that the behavior accounted for less than a quarter of leaks. Source: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2228755/risky-behavior-looms-large
Communications Sector
38. October 22, Chicago Tribune – (Illinois) Video doesn’t show helicopter crash but indicates warning lights were working on Aurora tower. Video shot by a security camera confirms that the warning lights on a radio tower in Aurora were functioning last week when an emergency medical helicopter hit one of the structure’s support wires and crashed, the chief investigator into the fatal accident said Tuesday. Authorities had hoped the camera, positioned at the Metra commuter parking lot at Illinois Highway 59, would have shown the Air Angels helicopter as it flew by last Wednesday night en route to Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago from a hospital in Sandwich. Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-chopper-video-22-oct22,0,6369795.story?track=rss
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