Department of Homeland Security Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report

Friday, September 26, 2008

Complete DHS Daily Report for September 26, 2008

Daily Report

Headlines

 According to USA Today, a new government program aims to make it more difficult for terrorists to steal radioactive material from the nation’s hospitals and medical research labs to make “dirty bombs.” About 1,300 machines will be fitted with new security measures by the end of next year. (See item 10)

10. September 23, USA Today – (National) Feds work to secure potential ‘dirty bomb’ source. A new government program aims to make it more difficult for terrorists to steal dangerous radioactive material from the nation’s hospitals and medical research labs to make “dirty bombs.” About 1,300 machines in medical facilities will be fitted with new security measures by the end of next year that will make it much harder for anyone to steal the cesium chloride inside, officials at the U.S. Homeland Security and Energy departments said. Concerns about hospital security took on new urgency last year when government “red teams” were able to break into irradiation machines in as little as two minutes, said the head of Homeland Security’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office. The retrofitted machines “will help keep potentially dangerous material safe and secure from theft or misuse,” said a spokesman of the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration. That agency is splitting the cost — up to $3,000 per machine — with Homeland Security. The work began this month at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The New York Police Department counterterrorism chief called the retrofits “very basic and relatively cheap” and said they are “long overdue.” Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-23-mednukes_N.htm

 The Houston Chronicle reports that a quarter of a million people in the Houston, Texas, region were without running water Tuesday, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which regulates more than 2,500 public water systems in the 10-county region hammered by Hurricane Ike. (See item 29)

29. September 23, Houston Chronicle – (Texas) Hundreds of thousands may stay without water for a while. A quarter of a million people in the Houston region were without running water Tuesday, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which regulates more than 2,500 public water systems in the 10-county region hammered by Hurricane Ike. Commission officials did not know about another 600,000 people because they have been unable to communicate with those utilities in the wake of the storm. The problem has myriad causes, including power outages and severe infrastructure damage in coastal areas. Some public water systems, which Texas regulators require to continue pumping in spite of power outages, have failed to do so, according to residents they serve and state officials. Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6019127.html

Details

Banking and Finance Sector


14. September 25, Associated Press – (Virginia) Brothers admit to million-dollar mortgage fraud. Federal prosecutors say two Virginia brothers have pleaded guilty in a million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme. Between April 2004 and September 2006, prosecutors say the two brothers received several real estate mortgage loans. Additionally, they pleaded guilty to conspiring with a Leesburg resident who aided in the scheme. The three overstated the Leesburg man’s income and omitted his liabilities so he could purchase properties they were selling. The brothers paid him $27,000 for each property he bought after they received more than $2 million in loans. Source: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/09/25/ap5469775.html


15. September 24, Mondo Visione – (Connecticut) SEC wins major hedge fund fraud case against Michael Lauer, head of Lancer Management Group. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that a district court judge today granted its motion for summary judgment against the architect of a massive billion-dollar hedge fund fraud. The head of two Connecticut-based companies – Lancer Management Group and Lancer Management Group II was found liable for violating the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. He raised more than $1.1 billion from investors and his fraudulent actions caused investor losses of approximately $500 million. The companies were placed under the control of a Court-appointed receiver after the SEC filed its enforcement action in 2003. The judge’s order entered a permanent injunction against Lauer against future violations of Sections 17(a)(1)-(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act), Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act), and Sections 206(1) and (2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act). The order reserved ruling on the SEC’s claim for disgorgement with prejudgment interest against Lauer, and on the amount of a financial penalty Lauer must pay. The SEC is seeking a financial penalty and disgorgement of the more than $50 million Lauer received in ill-gotten gains from his fraudulent scheme. Source: http://www.mondovisione.com/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=77509


16. September 24, Mondo Visione – (National) CFTC sanctions four registered commodity pool operators for failing to file timely commodity pool. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today simultaneously filed and settled charges against four registered commodity pool operators (CPOs), charging them with failing to distribute to investors and file with the National Futures Association (NFA) one or more of their respective commodity pools’ annual reports in a timely manner. Mansur Capital Corporation of Chicago, Persistent Edge Management, LLC of San Francisco, and Stillwater Capital Partners, Inc. and Stillwater Capital Partners, LLC, both of New York, were charged in the CFTC action. The CFTC orders find that each of the four CPOs operated one or more commodity pools, including pools that operated as funds-of-funds. While each of the CPOs had obtained extensions of the prescribed deadlines for various pools and reporting years, each failed to timely comply with its obligations, in violation of CFTC regulations. Source: http://www.mondovisione.com/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=77504


17. September 24, Mondo Visione – (Pennsylvania) CFTC files action to revoke the registration of Philadelphia Alternative Asset Management Company. The CFTC, in a Notice of Intent to Revoke Registration filed on September 24, 2008, alleges that the Philadelphia Alternative Asset Management Company (PAAM) is subject to statutory disqualification of its registration as a CPO based on a default judgment entered against PAAM in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on August 13, 2008. The order found that PAAM, from at least the fall of 2002 through at least May 2005, fraudulently solicited more than $280 million from individuals to participate in a commodity pool that traded commodity futures and options. The order also found that PAAM issued fraudulent trading account statements, misrepresented its trading record to prospective participants, and misappropriated pool funds. PAAM was ordered to pay restitution of approximately $276 million and an $8.8 million civil monetary penalty. Source: http://www.mondovisione.com/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=77502


Information Technology


37. September 25, CXOtoday – (National) Cisco releases advisory for vulnerabilities. Cisco released 12 security advisories Wednesday. Eleven of the advisories address vulnerabilities in the IOS software that powers all Cisco hardware like routers and switches. One such advisory addresses vulnerabilities in Cisco Unified Communications Manager. Source: http://www.cxotoday.com/India/News/Cisco_Releases_Advisory_for_Vulnerabilities/551-93586-909.html


38. September 25, VNU Net – (National) Barracuda opens up spam blocking list. Barracuda Networks is to open its spam blocking list for companies to use free of charge. The Barracuda Reputation Block List (BRBL) is a dynamically updated list of known spam servers that can be used to block spam at the gateway. This means that companies do not have to run all incoming email though antivirus scanners and other filtering technologies, according to the firm. The BRBL will now be available for free download and includes a tool to report other spam servers. This is not the first time that Barracuda has given away security software. The company is currently being sued by Trend Micro for giving away its Clam antivirus engine without paying a license fee for a patent which Barracuda is challenging. Source: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2226879/barracuda-opens-spam-blocking


Communications Sector

39. September 24, Agence France-Presse – (International) US telecoms satellite put into orbit: company. The Russo-Ukrainian rocket Zenit on Wednesday put the U.S. telecommunications satellite Galaxy-19 in orbit, Russia’s space flights regulator said. The satellite, manufactured by Space Systems/Loral, has a wide footprint covering the United States, the Caribbean region, Canada, and Mexico. The Zenit was launched from a floating platform in the Pacific Ocean run by Sea Launch, in which U.S., Russian, Norwegian, and Ukrainian firms hold stakes, including aviation giant Boeing. Source: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/US_telecoms_satellite_put_into_orbit_company_999.html