Tuesday, July 10, 2012 


Daily Report

Top Stories

 • A Spirit Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was delayed for 11 hours after it made an emergency landing in Houston when the pilot determined a disruptive passenger was a safety threat. – Houston Chronicle 

15. July 9, Houston Chronicle – (Texas) Spirit passengers stuck for hours after being diverted to IAH. A Spirit Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, made an emergency landing at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport early July 8 after a passenger became “disruptive” and the pilot decided to land “for the safety of all on board,” an airline spokeswoman said. The plane, carrying more than 100 passengers, left Los Angeles July 7. “It had escalated to the point that for the safety of all on board the captain felt that he needed to divert,” the spokeswoman said. Passengers said that they spent more than 1 hour on the tarmac and about 10 hours in the terminal. Source: http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2012/07/jet-makes-emergency-landing-at-bush-airport/

 • July 7, flash floods caused mudslides, closed many major roads, and submerged basements across Larimer County, Colorado. – Fort Collins Coloradoan 

17. July 8, Fort Collins Coloradoan – (Colorado) Rain, flooding causes weekend road closures. July 7, flash floods caused mudslides and submerged basements across Larimer County, Colorado, as heavy afternoon rains pummeled areas that were bone-dry a few days earlier. U.S. Highway 34 west of Loveland to Drake was closed and still had not re-opened 4 hours later as crews worked to clear roads of rock and mudslides along the Big Thompson River. Farther south, Interstate 25 was closed at Dacono in both directions for most of the evening. There was a 30 percent chance of storms with a risk of flash floods especially in burned and previously-soaked areas by July 9. Residents along Colorado 14 between Mishawaka and Gateway Park continue to be under pre-evacuation notice because of concerns associated with flooding. Source: http://www.coloradoan.com/viewart/20120707/NEWS01/307070012/Rain-flooding-causes-road-closures?odyssey=mod|mostview

 • Buona Vita, Inc., a Bridgeton, New Jersey establishment, recalled approximately 324,770 pounds of various frozen, ready-to-eat meat and poultry products due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. – U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service 

22. July 7, U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service – (National) New Jersey firm recalls various frozen, ready-to-eat meat and poultry products due to potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Buona Vita, Inc., a Bridgeton, New Jersey establishment, recalled approximately 324,770 pounds of various frozen, ready-to-eat meat and poultry products due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced July 7. The products were sold to distribution facilities nationwide. The problem was discovered through microbiological testing by the FSIS and the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Source: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_042_2012_Release/index.asp

 • Over the course of 48 hours, two separate explosive devices were found at two different schools in Kent, Washington, with one blowing up and causing significant damage. – KCPQ 13 Seattle 

36. July 6, KCPQ 13 Seattle – (Washington) Explosives found at 2 Kent schools, 1 school damaged by blast. Over the course of 48 hours, two separate explosive devices were found at two different schools in Kent, Washington, KCPQ 13 Seattle reported July 6. The first device detonated and blew a hole in the wall of Lake Youngs Elementary School. The explosion sent rubble from the wall about 100 feet from where the device was detonated. Kent fire officials said someone broke a window at the school and climbed inside, then set off the explosive. “It actually blew a very large hole about 6 feet high and 2 feet wide in a masonry wall,” said a Kent Fire Department official. “Somebody could have been seriously hurt in that one.” He said the device could have been a high-powered commercial firework or a powerful “improvised explosive device.” Investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are helping in the investigation. The second incident happened July 5 at Glenridge Elementary School where an unexploded “sparkler bomb” was found by a police officer in the parking lot. Fire investigators confirmed the device was dangerous and if it had detonated, it could have injured someone. Source: http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-explosives-found-at-2-kent-schools-1-school-damaged-by-blast-20120706,0,6495446.story

 • The demise of the only company that manufactured a device specially designed to spray fire retardant from the back of U.S. military C-130 cargo planes has some experts worried about the future viability of a program that has helped fight wildfires for 40 years. – Associated Press 

37. July 7, Associated Press – (National) No parts available for C-130 wildfire tankers. The demise of the only company that manufactured a device specially designed to spray fire retardant from the back of U.S. military C-130 cargo planes has some experts worried about the future viability of a program that has helped fight wildfires for 40 years, the Associated Press reported July 7. The Modular Airborne Firefighting System is a bus-sized device that can be shoved into the belly of a cargo plane and used to spray retardant, or slurry, at 3,000 gallons in less than 5 seconds. The $4.9 million device’s only manufacturer, Sacramento, California-based Aero Union, went out of business in August 2011, and no other company has replaced it. Critical spare parts also are no longer being made. The MAFFS C-130s are operated by three National Guard units and one Air Force Reserve unit in Wyoming, Colorado, North Carolina, and California. Wyoming’s MAFFS have been deployed as far away as Indonesia. In 2011, MAFFS C-130s flew to wildfires in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oregon, and Mexico. Source: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2012/07/ap-air-force-no-parts-for-c-130-wildfire-tankers-070712/

 • Authorities in Prince William County, Virginia, said a propane grill in an apartment is to blame for a fire that destroyed two buildings and displaced nearly 100 residents. – Associated Press 

52. July 8, Associated Press – (Virginia) Grill blamed for Woodbridge apartment fire. Authorities in Prince William County, Virginia, said a propane grill in an apartment is to blame for displacing nearly 100 residents in a four-alarm fire, the Associated Press reported July 8. A fire department spokeswoman said the grill in a third-floor apartment triggered the July 5 blaze. The fire was ruled accidental. No residents were seriously injured. However, three firefighters were taken to the hospital for injuries. Authorities said the fire spread to an adjoining building. The buildings were condemned, leaving nearly 100 residents displaced. Officials said 25 residential units were damaged. Source: http://www.wtop.com/120/2403820/Grill-blamed-for-Woodbridge-apartment-fire

Details

Banking and Finance Sector 

10. July 9, New York Post – (New York) Bandit dressed as postal worker pulls off 2 Queens bank heists in 10 minutes. A bandit knocked off 2 banks in 10 minutes July 9 in the Queens borough of New York City, authorities said. A man dressed in a postal uniform went into a Capital One bank and passed a demand note to the teller. He then flashed a gun he had tucked into his waistband, police said. The teller gave him an unknown amount of cash and the man fled. He turned up 10 minutes later at another Capital One branch — a mere mile and a half from his first heist — and passed another demand note. The teller again handed over cash and the man fled the scene. Source: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/bandit_pulls_off_queens_bank_heists_Daza8H1bBkxSmkTy32JyjI

11. July 7, Walnut Patch – (California) Area residents arrested, linked to fake credit card crew. Authorities in San Diego’s North County arrested six individuals in connection with an active credit card counterfeit crew July 7. All were arrested on suspicion of multiple counts of commercial burglary and charges related to theft with an access card, and possession of forged credit cards. Deputies discovered their involvement in what was described as a very active crew of counterfeiters, who allegedly manufacture fraudulent and fake credit cards and use stolen, or compromised credit card information to take out large cash advances from San Diego area casinos. Authorities also accused the suspects of employing an elaborate scam involving ATM cash advance machines and the casino cashier. The crew was reportedly very active the past 2 months at area casinos, allegedly conducting multiple fraudulent transactions at those locations. Source: http://walnut.patch.com/articles/area-residents-arrested-linked-to-fake-credit-card-crew

12. July 7, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot – (Virginia) Developer to plead guilty in tax credit fraud case. A real estate developer agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of defrauding the historic tax credit program, according to a document filed July 6 in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Virginia. The developer’s partner previously pleaded guilty. Together, both men will play a central role in the ongoing investigation into the collapse of the Bank of the Commonwealth, where they owed $41 million in loans at the time the bank failed in September 2011. The developer was accused of bilking $11 million from the State and federal historic tax credit programs, which provide financial incentives to redevelop historic buildings. Federal authorities spent years investigating alleged fraudulent activity involving former officers and directors of the Bank of the Commonwealth. The developer and his partner became involved in the case as authorities reviewed the loans they received from the bank. Source: http://hamptonroads.com/2012/07/developer-plead-guilty-tax-credit-fraud-case

13. July 6, New Haven Register – (Connecticut) Defendant pleads guilty to role in $10 million New Haven mortgage scam. The U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut July 6 announced that a real estate agent pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud. From about October 2006 to November 2008, the agent and others conspired to defraud financial institutions by obtaining more than $10 million in fraudulent mortgages for the purchase of more than 40 properties in New Haven, Connecticut. The agent identified most of the properties and negotiated with sellers over the sale price. As part of the scheme, sellers agreed to accept a sale price significantly lower than the contract price. The lower price was not disclosed to lenders from which the buyers obtained financing to purchase the properties. The agent and his co-conspirators then submitted falsified paperwork to obtain the loans. They used the fraudulently obtained proceeds to pay themselves and others. Many of the houses purchased as part of this conspiracy went into default and have been foreclosed upon, causing losses of more than $7 million to lenders. Source: http://nhregister.com/articles/2012/07/06/news/doc4ff727ab77eb3031799127.txt?viewmode=fullstory

14. July 6, Chicago Sun-Times Media Wire – (Illinois; Wisconsin) 2 Chicago men plead guilty to ATM ‘skimming’. Two Chicago men pleaded guilty to rigging ATM machines in Illinois and Wisconsin to skim customers’ bank accounts and PINs, costing Chase Bank more than $100,000, the Chicago Sun-Times Media Wire reported July 6. One pleaded guilty to continuing a financial crimes enterprise, and the other pleaded guilty to identity theft. Prosecutors said the two placed electronic devices on ATMs belonging to Chase Bank branches in Cook County, Illinois, and southeastern Wisconsin, allowing them to obtain the financial information of nearly 500 people and gain access to millions of dollars in bank accounts. Source: http://www.suntimes.com/news/crime/13625037-418/2-chicago-men-plead-guilty-to-atm-skimming.html

Information Technology Sector

41. July 9, Infosecurity – (International) New Android trojan infects 100,000 in China. A new Android trojan that provides a variation on covert premium calls was located in China: it secretly buys applications via China Mobile’s Android Market. The cost is automatically added to the user’s phone bill. Security firm TrustGo Mobile discovered the malware the week of July 2, and called it Trojan!MMarketPay.A@Android. The malware was found in 9 China app markets and has already infected more than 100,000 Android devices. TrustGo warns the trojan may be delivered as a repackaged app, such as cn.itkt.travelskygo or com.funinhand.weibo. Currently, TrustGo concludes “this sophisticated new malware could cause unexpected high phone bills.” The same methodology could also be used to download and install “free” spyware or spyware-infected apps that might have been planted in the Market. Source: http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/view/26859/

42. July 7, CSO – (International) Olympic officials brace for hackers competition. Since 2008, U.K. officials said the country was expecting an unprecedented level of attacks during the 2-plus weeks of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The CTO of Cigital said he thought the worst that could happen was hacktivism. However, there are also bigger threats, a retired military intelligence officer and information operations expert and consultant said. “There are a ton of other things, such as schedules, transportation systems, water, physical security, telephones — you name it — all automated and networked. Those would be great targets and shutting down all the water would shut down the Olympics.” The competition between the white and black hats is expected to be fierce. Atos, the lead technology company for the summer and winter Games since 2002, will be in charge of about 11,500 computers and servers across the United Kingdom. Atos has done more than 200,000 hours of testing, including mounting simulated attacks, according to the company’s executive vice president. Source: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/258852/olympic_officials_brace_for_hackers_competition.html

43. July 6, PC Magazine – (International) Android botnet? No, a much simpler flaw in Yahoo! Mail’s app. Lookout discovered that Yahoo! Mail’s Android application — the center of a potential “Android botnet” investigation — does not encrypt user data in transit, and issued a warning that hackers could easily hijack a user’s account. Although users can enable encryption in the app’s settings, by default the app does not secure data in transmission. Unaware users could find their entire accounts hijacked when connected to an insecure WiFi network, in the same vein as the Firesheep attack in 2010. “Given this security oversight, we believe that a very plausible explanation for the SMS spam botnet reported recently involves session hijacking,” Lookout’s CTO said. Yahoo! sent PC Magazine the following statement: “While our investigation into claims of a potential malware compromise operating as a botnet is ongoing, we can confirm that there is not a problem with our official Yahoo! Mail app for Android and there is no reason for users to uninstall the app.” Source: http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/none/300005-android-botnet-no-a-much-simpler-flaw-in-yahoo-mail-s-app

44. July 6, SC Magazine – (National) D-Day for DNSChanger internet cutoff arrives Monday. More than 60,000 computers in the United States were expected to lose Internet access beginning July 9 unless they were able to remove a piece of malware in time, according to the FBI. It is the crucial moment for users that control machines infected by the DNSChanger trojan, which is capable of modifying DNS settings to send users to sites of the attacker’s choosing. The trojan also can disable anti-virus and other security software. While the number of poisoned PCs remains relatively high, the vice president of research at security firm Damballa told SC Magazine July 6 that most of those endpoints likely are not actively used to browse the Web and are instead employed by businesses to run “automated activities.” There is also a chance some of the infections are on modems and routers, but not computers. Source: http://www.scmagazine.com/d-day-for-dnschanger-internet-cutoff-arrives-monday/article/249119/

45. July 6, ZDNet – (International) Warning: Fake Skype app on Android is malware. Cybercriminals created a fake version of the Skype for Android application, designed to earn money from unsuspecting users. Trend Micro, which first discovered the malware, is calling this particular threat JAVA_SMSSEND.AB. The app only runs on older (pre Software Installation Script) Symbian phones or Android devices that allow execution of Java MIDlet. The cybercriminals behind this scheme set up fake Web sites advertising fake Skype apps. Most of the sites are hosted on Russian domains (.ru) but the fake apps themselves are hosted on Nigerien domains (.ne). Source: http://www.zdnet.com/warning-fake-skype-app-on-android-is-malware-7000000418/

Communications Sector 

46. July 6, Multichannel News – (Lousiania) FCC fines cable operator $30,000 for illegal retransmission. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fined Bailey Cable TV $30,000 for two separate retrans violations during a retrans impasse in Baton Rouge, Louisiana during which the operator continued to carry the station signals after its contract ran out and the stations had asked it to take down the signals, Multichannel News reported July 6. Bailey did not dispute it had retransmitted the signals of WGMB-TV (Knight Broadcasting) and WVLA-TV (Communications Corp. of America), both in Baton Rouge without the station owners’ permission, according to the FCC, but Bailey argued it should be one violation, not two. According to the FCC, after Bailey could not come to new terms on retransmission-consent agreements that expired December 31, 2011, it kept carrying the signals without a contract because it felt the broadcasters were using the commission to try to engineer a dramatic increase in rates and the FCC should instead require the stations to negotiate a fair rate. Source: http://www.multichannel.com/article/486820-FCC_Fines_Cable_Operator_30_000_for_Illegal_Retransmission.php

For more stories, see items 41, 42, 43, and 45 above in the Information Technology Sector