Wednesday, July 18, 2012 


Daily Report

Top Stories

 • A third-party review of the “safety culture” at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert Township, Michigan, said employees did not believe management was open to suggestions or made the right decisions. – Holland Sentinel 

8. July 17, Holland Sentinel – (Michigan) Report blasts poor ‘safety culture’ at Palisades nuclear plant. A third-party review of the “safety culture” at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert Township, Michigan, said employees did not believe management was open to suggestions for improvement or made the right decisions, the Holland Sentinel reported July 17. “There is a lack in the belief that Palisades management really wants problems or concerns reported or that the issues will be addressed,” the report’s executive summary stated. It recommended a clarification of expectations and standards and an improvement in communications. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is reviewing the assessment, a NRC spokesman said. The assessment was conducted in January and February and given to Entergy Nuclear Operations, the owner of Palisades, in April. Entergy had already started to address safety issues at the plant in the fall of 2011, said a company statement. Source: http://www.hollandsentinel.com/topstories/x736424803/Report-blasts-poor-safety-culture-at-Palisades-nuclear-plant

 • Production was stalled after a fire did $1.5 million in damage to the Welspun oil pipe manufacturing plant in Little Rock, Arkansas, July 14. – Associated Press 

11. July 16, Associated Press – (Arkansas) Fire does $1.5M in damage to Arkansas plant. Production was stalled after a fire did $1.5 million in damage to the Welspun oil pipe manufacturing plant in Little Rock, Arkansas, July 14. The company’s president told KLRT 16 Little Rock July 16 that the company has enough pipes on hand to continue shipments for weeks. Fire officials said the fire destroyed the electrical room that runs all the machines used to make oil pipes. Officials believe electrical equipment in the control room overheated and caught fire. All of the equipment was destroyed. Source: http://www.katv.com/story/19039407/fire-does-15m-in-damage-to-arkansas-plant

 • A “pervasively polluted” culture at HSBC allowed the bank to act as financier for clients all over the world laundering money to fund drug deals and terrorist activities. – NBC News See item 12 below in the Banking and Finance Sector

 • Traffic was reopened on the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit July 17, after a U.S.-Canada span closed for hours while authorities checked out a bomb threat July 16. That closure marked the second threat in 4 days to a major area international crossing. – Associated Press

15. July 17, Associated Press – (Michigan) Ambassador Bridge in Detroit open again after bomb threat. Traffic was reopened on the Ambassador Bridge July 17, a U.S.-Canada span that was closed for hours while authorities checked out a bomb threat July 16 on the U.S. side of the bridge in Detroit. There was a similar threat 4 days earlier to a nearby tunnel crossing. According to the Michigan Department of Transportation, traffic was at normal levels as rush hour approached July 17. Detroit police said someone called 9-1-1 saying a bomb would go off in 10 minutes. The call prompted authorities in Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, to halt all truck and car traffic across the bridge. The bridge was reopened July 17 after security sweeps failed to turn up any incendiary devices. Source: http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2012/07/ambassador_bridge_in_detroit_o.html

 • Six needles were found in sandwiches aboard four Delta Air Lines flights from Amsterdam to the United States; now Dutch authorities and the FBI are conducting criminal investigations. – CNN

22. July 17, CNN – (National; International) Dutch, U.S. authorities investigating needles in airline sandwiches. Dutch authorities joined the FBI in conducting criminal investigations into the discovery of needles in six sandwiches aboard four Delta Air Lines flights from Amsterdam to the United States, a military police spokesman in the Netherlands said July 17. One person was injured when he bit into a sandwich containing a needle, Delta and Dutch officials said. A second passenger aboard the same flight told ABC’s “Good Morning America” July 17 that he not only found a needle, he discovered after landing that his son also found one in his sandwich aboard another flight from Amsterdam. The objects were discovered in the sandwiches as the planes were flying July 15 from Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands to Minneapolis, Seattle, and two flights to Atlanta, according to a Delta spokeswoman. Two of the needles were found by passengers, she said. An air marshal aboard another flight found a needle as well. July 16, the FBI said it launched an investigation. July 17, a spokesman for the military police in Schiphol said detectives were looking into who put the needles into the sandwiches and why. Gate Gourmet, which provided prepared sandwiches to Delta, said the sandwiches originated at the firm’s facility in Amsterdam. July 16, a Transportation Security Administration spokesman said the agency notified all U.S. airlines with flights from Schiphol to the United States of the situation. Delta is now serving sealed prepackaged food on these flights instead of the sandwiches. Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/17/travel/delta-needles/index.html

 • Workers at Department of Energy nuclear research centers have been putting lives at risk by incorrectly storing explosives, improperly labeling bunkers, and inspecting explosives at “populated” main gates, states a new federal report. – Fox News

36. July 17, Fox News – (National) Nuclear research screeners checking for explosives at ‘populated’ areas, putting lives at risk, report says. Workers at Department of Energy (DoE) nuclear research centers have been putting lives at risk by incorrectly storing explosives, improperly labeling bunkers, and inspecting explosives at “populated” main gates, according to a DoE inspector general report, Fox News reported July 17. The report found “problems with handling and storing explosives” at four National Laboratory sites, which were examined by the office. The centers are part of a federal network of sites that research explosives “detection, effects, and mitigation.” At two sites, the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Idaho National Laboratory, the inspector general’s office found workers were inspecting explosives shipments at “populated main gates” during peak hours. Standard practice is for such inspections to be held in a “remote area and/or during non-peak traffic hours.” The report said the Savannah crew responded by moving its inspections to an unpopulated area, but the Idaho staff has not changed its procedures. The report, though, praised the four sites for making changes after other problems were flagged. This included a finding that at all four sites, workers were storing combustible materials with explosives in storage bunkers. It also cited the facilities for improper labeling and disposal techniques. The two other sites reviewed were Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/17/internal-report-cites-nuclear-centers-for-screening-explosives-at-populated/

 • Police said a gunman who fired into a crowded bar July 17 near the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, wounding at least 17 people, turned himself in to authorities. – Associated Press

50. July 17, Associated Press – (Alabama) Police: Gunman in Ala. bar shooting turned self in. Police said the gunman who fired into a crowded bar July 17 near the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, wounding at least 17 people, turned himself in to authorities. The police chief said the man went to a business in Jasper, about 45 miles north of the shooting at the Copper Top bar, and told employees he was the suspect. He said they are investigating whether the shooting involved a dispute between rival motorcycle gangs. Police believe the rampage was connected to an earlier shooting at a home. Two people who lived there were involved in that shooting, and one was wounded. In the later shooting, the gunman stood outside of the bar for a few moments, targeted someone inside, and fired through a window, the police chief said. Customers inside ran outside or crawled away, before the gunman opened fire again with a military-style assault weapon. Most of the injured were hit by bullet fragments or debris, said a hospital spokesman. Two people were in intensive care, one in critical care, and the other in serious condition. Three people were in fair condition, and the others were treated and released. Source: http://www.wane.com/dpps/news/national/south/17-people-hurt-in-tuscaloosa-alabama-bar-shooting-nt12-jgr_4240243

Details

Banking and Finance Sector

12. July 17, NBC News – (International) Report: HSBC allowed money laundering that likely funded terror, drugs. A “pervasively polluted” culture at HSBC allowed the bank to act as financier to clients moving shadowy funds from the world’s most dangerous and secretive corners, including Mexico, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, according to a U.S. Senate report issued July 16. The report, which came ahead of a Senate hearing July 17, said large amounts of Mexican drug money likely passed through the bank. HSBC’s U.S. division also provided money and banking services to some banks in Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh believed to have helped fund al-Qa’ida and other terrorist groups, according to Al-Jazeera. While the British bank’s problems have been known for nearly a decade, the Senate probe detailed just how sweeping the problems have been, both at the bank and at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a top U.S. bank regulator that the report said failed to properly monitor HSBC. The study said the OCC failed to crack down on the bank despite multiple red flags, allowing money laundering issues “to accumulate into a massive problem.” Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/17/12783850-report-hsbc-allowed-money-laundering-that-likely-funded-terror-drugs?

13. July 16, Federal Bureau of Investigation – (New York) NY attorney convicted for participating in $66M mortgage fraud scheme. An attorney was found guilty of conspiring to commit bank fraud and wire fraud in connection with a $66 million mortgage fraud scheme, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced July 16. The case involved First Class Equities (FCE), a mortgage brokerage firm with offices in Oceanside and Old Westbury, New York. He was the fifth attorney convicted in the scheme. From 2004 to 2009, FCE arranged home sales between “straw buyers” and homeowners who were often people in financial distress and willing to sell their homes. Fraudulent financial statements were prepared for lenders, who approved loans for properties later allowed to go into foreclosure by the attorney and his co-conspirators. The attorney typically appeared at closings as the attorney for the bank but also represented straw buyers and sham sellers. He reviewed and approved fake checks brought to closings, lied on settlement statements about distribution of bank funds, and took other steps to ensure the FCE president/owner and other members of the conspiracy made huge profits from the scheme. As a result of the scheme, banks were defrauded and dozens of properties all over the New York area went into foreclosure. Source: http://www.loansafe.org/ny-attorney-convicted-for-participating-in-66m-mortgage-fraud-scheme

14. July 15, phillyBurbs.com – (New Jersey) Police: Female bandit caught after robbing 4th bank. Authorities said they arrested a female bank bandit, suspected of robbing two locations in Burlington County, New Jersey, and a third in Camden County, after she allegedly ripped off a Cherry Hill bank July 13. She was charged with two counts of robbery and theft after being taken into custody in Camden. Authorities apprehended her after she allegedly robbed a Wells Fargo Bank in Cherry Hill by tracking her license plate back to the address in Camden. She was also charged with robbing a Susquehanna Bank in Audubon, and was suspected of hitting another Susquehanna branch in Cinnaminson, and a Beneficial Bank in Willingboro. She has not been charged with the offenses in Burlington County but is a suspect, authorities said. Source: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/police-female-bandit-caught-after-robbing-th-bank/article_03280d1f-73ed-5074-b90c-5db54ba61922.html

Information Technology Sector

44. July 17, H Security – (International) Google blocks Chrome extensions from third party servers. Future versions of Google’s Chrome Web browser will block the installation of extensions, applications, and user scripts hosted on third party servers. According to a page on the Chrome Web Store Help site, in the future, developers will have to submit extensions for inclusion in the Chrome Web Store, where Google will check all files for malicious functionality. Until now, developers were able to host Chrome extensions on their own servers. This had the advantage that updates could be made available for installation immediately after uploading; also developers did not have to adhere to Google’s terms and conditions for using the Chrome Web Store. However, Google said this capability was increasingly being used by fraudsters to spread malicious extensions able to perform functions such as stealing data entered on Web pages. This meant the firm was not in a position to easily block malicious extensions. The latest stable version of Chrome, 20.0.1132.57, still allows the installation of extensions hosted by third parties, but this is likely to change with the next update. Version 21.0.1180.41, currently in beta, blocks installation of third party extensions and points users in the direction of the Chrome Web Store. Source: http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Google-blocks-Chrome-extensions-from-third-party-servers-1643537.html

45. July 17, H Security – (International) Skype confirms privacy bug that sends IMs to unintended recipients. Skype confirmed its voice-over-IP (VoIP) software contains a bug that could result in instant messages (IMs) being sent to unintended recipients. The privacy bug was first reported in the Skype Support Network forums by a user who, after an update to their Skype client in June, encountered the problem in which some messages went to another contact. Following this report, many other users confirmed they experienced the problem. According to Skype, the problem only occurs following a crash of a user’s Skype client during an IM session. When the client is restarted or is logged in as a new user, IM messages entered or sent before the crash can, in some cases, be sent to a different IM contact in the user’s list. Skype could not determine the number of users affected, but said it believes it only happens in “very rare cases.” Affected Skype clients include version 5.10 for Windows, Skype 5.8 for Mac OS X, Skype 4.0 for Linux, and Skype 1.2 for Windows Phone. Skype released hot-fix updates for the Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux Skype clients to correct the privacy bug. The company originally stated Skype for Windows 5.9, Skype 4.0 for iOS, and Skype 2.8 for Android were affected, however, after further investigation by the developers, these were found not to be vulnerable to the problem. Source: http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Skype-confirms-privacy-bug-that-sends-IMs-to-unintended-recipients-1643401.html

46. July 17, Threatpost – (International) Dutch authorities knock out Grum botnet C&C servers. Dutch authorities disconnected two of the command-and-control (C&C) servers for one of the top spam-producing botnets, known as Grum. The action was not a complete knockout though, as there are still two other C&C servers at work, but researchers are optimistic the volume of spam will drop as a result. Researchers at FireEye tracked the Grum botnet for a while and pinpointed the four C&C servers being used to control it. Two of the servers were in the Netherlands, one is in Russia, and the other in Panama. In the last few days, authorities in the Netherlands disconnected the two servers in their country, severing half of the Grum botnet’s command infrastructure. Source: http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/dutch-authorities-knock-out-grum-botnet-cc-servers-071712

47. July 17, H Security – (International) Android 4.1 Jelly Bean includes proper address randomisation. With the release of Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean,” Google provided its open source mobile operating system with fully featured address space layout randomization (ASLR) support. Its predecessor — Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) — contained some ASLR features, but a few areas, such as application code and the linker, still had fixed addresses. Apple introduced ASLR for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad over a year ago in version 4.3 of iOS. ASLR is considered to be a key technique for making it harder for attackers to exploit security vulnerabilities. By using random addresses for program code, the stack, the heap, and libraries, it prevents exploit coders from being able to jump to known memory locations to execute specific code fragments — return-oriented programming (ROP) becomes impossible. The result is a fully functional exploit often must make use of multiple vulnerabilities. A security specialist from Duo Security analyzed the new Jelly Bean security features and predicts attackers will target vulnerabilities in 32-bit ASLR, where there is not enough space for proper randomization. Source: http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Android-4-1-Jelly-Bean-includes-proper-address-randomisation-1644060.html

Communications Sector

48. July 16, San Antonio College Ranger – (Texas) KSYM resumes ‘occupying the airwaves’ after transmitter problems. KSYM 90.1 FM San Antonio was back on the air July 16 after problems with the transmitter caused interruptions in the broadcast since July 12. The program director said July 16 the transmitter was operating on low power, sending signals within a 5-6 mile radius. Listeners who are farther away from the campus will hear a lot more noise and interference, he said. He stated listeners are able to stream the station online. The station first went off air July 12 but was back on the air July 13. It also went down the afternoon of July 14, but resumed broadcasting again in the low power mode late the morning of July 16. The transmitter has a transmission line that goes to the radio tower. The program director said the problem appeared to be that sealant used to insulate the line had corroded and was touching a wire. Source: http://www.theranger.org/news/ksym-resumes-occupying-the-airwaves-after-transmitter-problems-1.2747625#.UAVyu5FnWtQ

For more stories, see items 45 and 47 above in the Information Technology Sector