Monday, July 23, 2012 


Daily Report

Top Stories

 • Back-to-back thunderstorms dumped a torrent of rain on Baltimore City, Maryland, and surrounding counties July 19. The storms causing widespread flooding of city streets and some buildings and grounded dozens of flights at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. – Baltimore Sun 

11. July 19, Baltimore Sun – (Maryland) Back-to-back storms lash central Maryland with heavy rainfall. Back-to-back thunderstorms dumped a torrent of rain on Baltimore City, Maryland, and surrounding counties July 19, causing widespread flooding of city streets and some buildings, and grounding dozens of flights at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI). Emergency calls began pouring into city fire and emergency dispatch centers as streets and intersections filled with standing water, particularly in Fells Point, where water reached people’s knees. Substantial flooding in Fells Point closed multiple streets. Thousands lost power. Water poured over ambulance ramps outside Hopkins Hospital’s emergency room, seeping into the building before firefighters could clear drains. A hospital spokesman said the flooding very briefly interrupted normal operations. Large sections of the lobby ceiling at the Hilton Baltimore caved in from pooling water and left gaping holes. Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. reported that power had been knocked out to more than 23,000 customers, with power restored to nearly 8,200. More than 21,000 outages occurred in Baltimore County and Baltimore City alone. BWI reported 60 flights grounded, with delays between 30 minutes and 4 hours. Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/weather/weather-blog/bs-md-storms-20120719,0,7188367.story

 • Nearly 18,000 cases of whooping cough have been reported in 2012 — more than twice the number seen at this point in 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said July 19. The United States is on pace to have the highest number of cases since 1959. – Champaign News-Gazette; Associated Press

21. July 20, Champaign News-Gazette; Associated Press – (National) CDC: Whooping cough rising at alarming rate in U.S. Nearly 18,000 cases of whooping cough have been reported in 2012 — more than twice the number seen at this point in 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said July 19. At this pace, the number for the entire year will be the highest since 1959, when 40,000 illnesses were reported. Nine children have died, and health officials called on adults — especially pregnant women and those who spend time around children — to get a booster shot as soon as possible. Health investigators are trying to figure out what is causing the increase, with theories including better detection and reporting of cases, some sort of evolution in the bacteria that cause the illness, or shortcomings in the vaccine. The original vaccine that had been given to young children for decades was replaced in the late 1990s following concerns about rashes, fevers, and other side effects. For about 25 years, fewer than 5,000 cases were reported annually. The numbers started to climb again in the 1990s. In both 2004 and 2005, cases surpassed 25,000. The numbers dipped for a few years but jumped to more than 27,000 in 2010, the year California saw an especially bad epidemic. Experts believe whooping cough occurs in cycles and peaks every 3 to 5 years. Source: http://www.news-gazette.com/news/health/health-care/2012-07-20/cdc-whooping-cough-rising-alarming-rate-us.html

 • A former New Hampshire hospital employee — who also worked at medical facilities in six other States — was charged July 19 with causing a hepatitis C outbreak involving dozens of patients treated at the hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab. – Associated Press 

24. July 19, Associated Press – (New Hampshire) Lab tech charged in NH hepatitis C investigation. A former New Hampshire hospital employee was charged July 19 with causing a hepatitis C outbreak involving patients who were treated at the hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab. A U.S. attorney said the former lab technician at Exeter Hospital in Exeter was charged with fraudulently obtaining drugs and tampering with a consumer product. He was arrested at a hospital in Massachusetts, where he was receiving medical treatment. Originally from Michigan, he worked as a traveling medical technician in at least six other States. He had been at Exeter since April 2011. Investigators believed he stole syringes containing an anesthetic and injected himself with them. He then put another liquid, such as saline, into the syringes, which were later injected into the patients. The investigation also revealed that the technician was involved in a similar incident at a hospital in another State. Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501363_162-57476043/lab-tech-charged-in-nh-hepatitis-c-investigation/
  
• The number of phishing Web sites, which are fake sites made to look like real ones and are dedicated to stealing sensitive information, is at an all-time high in 2012, a new report found. – IDG News Service See item 34 below in the Information Technology Sector
  
• The man suspected of shooting up an Aurora, Colorado movie theater screening the new Batman film July 20, killing 12 and wounding 59, also left his apartment rigged with traps, police said. – CNN

40. July 20, CNN – (Colorado) Gunman turns Batman screening into real-life ‘horror film’. The man suspected of shooting up an Aurora, Colorado movie theater screening the new Batman film July 20, killing 12 and wounding 59, also left his apartment rigged with traps, police said. “It is booby trapped with various incendiary and chemical devices and trip wires,” the Aurora police chief said. He added that it could take days to work through the apartment safely. Five buildings around the suspect’s apartment were evacuated. Law enforcement officers who searched the suspect’s apartment found “items of interest,” an official said. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents were involved in the apartment search. ATF agents also conducted emergency traces on the weapons. Police said the suspect dressed head-to-toe in protective tactical gear, set off two devices of some kind before spraying the theater with bullets from an AR-15 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun, and at least one of two .40-caliber handguns police recovered at the scene. The FBI has assisted in the investigation, officials said. The FBI spokesman said it did not appear the incident was related to terrorism. The suspect surrendered without resistance within minutes of the first calls from moviegoers reporting a shooting inside the Century 16 theater. He is scheduled to appear in court July 23. Police initially said 14 people had died but revised the death toll to 12. The initial injury count of 38 was revised upward to 59 later July 20. Several people remained in critical condition at area hospitals. All of the wounded suffered from gunshot wounds, which ranged from minor to critical, said a hospital spokeswoman. Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/20/us/colorado-theater-shooting/index.html

Details

Banking and Finance Sector

9. July 20, Philadelphia Inquirer – (National) 11 charged, 3 in South Jersey, in mortgage scam. Eleven people from five States were charged in an elaborate, $15 million mortgage scam that led to the attempted murder of one of those involved, federal authorities said July 19. They said the individuals used false documents so “straw” buyers qualified for loans for distressed properties at inflated prices, which included condominiums in Wildwood, New Jersey. The buyers had good credit scores, but not the financial resources to buy the properties. When federal authorities served a subpoena on a mortgage brokerage firm, one of the men allegedly attempted to have a witness killed, the indictment said. The witness was lured into a wooded area in Alabama and shot in the chest but survived. Authorities alleged two conspirators recruited buyers willing to submit false documents to qualify for loans. Mortgage brokers involved in the scheme were aware the documents were false, and another conspirator created bogus sales agreements that concealed the true values of properties, authorities alleged. Source: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20120720_11_charged__3_in_South_Jersey__in_mortgage_scam.html

10. July 19, Mansfield News – (Rhode Island; Massachusetts) FBI and area police seek information leading to arrest of ‘bearded bandit’. The FBI’s Boston Division Violent Crimes Task Force, along with the Seekonk, Massachusetts Police Department, and Cranston, Warwick, and North Providence, Rhode Island police departments, were seeking the public’s assistance to identify the “Bearded Bandit,” a serial bank robber, Mansfield News reported July 19. He is alleged to be responsible for one bank robbery in ,and three bank robberies in Rhode Island since February. A joint multi-state investigation was underway to determine his identity. During three of the robberies, the Bearded Bandit said he had a firearm. In each robbery, he threatened to harm tellers. He was suspected in the robberies of a Bank of America in Seekonk February 23; a Citizens Bank in Cranston, April 16; a Bank of America in Warwick, May 7; and a Bank of America in North Providence, June 27. Source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/mansfield/news/x1871996383/FBI-and-area-police-seek-information-leading-to-arrest-of-bearded-bandit#axzz21Acmwvwe

For more stories, see item 34 below in the Information Technology Sector
Information Technology Sector

32. July 20, H Security – (International) Urgent security update for TeamViewer. The TeamViewer developers released updates for a potential security vulnerability discovered in the remote access tool. The company recommends users install the security updates immediately. Versions 5 to 7 of the Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux editions of TeamViewer Full and TeamViewer QuickSupport are affected. The flaw does not appear to have been discovered in TeamViewer Host. The company did not offer any details of the vulnerability, but updated editions of the software can be obtained from the TeamViewer Download page. The new version can be installed over the previous installation. Source: http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Urgent-security-update-for-TeamViewer-1648586.html

33. July 20, H Security – (International) No patch for critical Oracle database vulnerability. Oracle decided not to fix a critical vulnerability in its 10g and 11g databases. Instead, users are expected to use a previously described workaround. Due to the “nature of this issue,” the company said it has no plan to establish a fix for currently supported versions of the database software. According to Oracle, a large amount of code would need to be changed and there would be a significant risk of regressions. They also cited the inability to automate the installation of a patch. Oracle’s customers are left to use the workaround, which essentially consists of securing cluster administration using “Class of Secure Transport.” The company does not plan to fix the vulnerability before the release of version 12. The database server is vulnerable to an attack known as TNS listener poisoning, in which an attacker is able to eavesdrop on database communication via an injected cluster node. Details of the attack were first published in April as the result of a mix-up in communication between Oracle and the discoverer of the vulnerability. He originally informed Oracle of the problem more than 4 years ago. Since then, Oracle released a new major version in which the company ignored the problem. Source: http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/No-patch-for-critical-Oracle-database-vulnerability-1649106.html

34. July 19, IDG News Service – (International) Phishing websites reach all-time high. The number of phishing Web sites detected reached an all-time high earlier in 2012, a sign that making fake Web sites spoofing real ones is still a lucrative trade for cyber criminals. In its latest report, the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) said 56,859 phishing sites were detected in February, beating the previous record high in August 2009 by nearly 1 percent. APWG is a nonprofit consortium composed of banks, security vendors, and others with a stake in tracking cybercrime trends. Phishing sites are Web sites that look nearly identical to legitimate ones and often mimic known brands. Leveraging the trust users put in legitimate companies, cyber criminals trick victims into divulging logins, passwords, and other sensitive data. The APWG noted in its report that the increase in the number of phishing sites was in part due to new technology that it began using earlier in 2012 to detect fake sites. More than 38 percent of the fake sites were related to financial services, said the report. The second most spoofed market vertical was payment services, followed by retail and other service sites. The sites spoofed 392 brands, also a new record. Source: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9229398/Phishing_websites_reach_all_time_high

35. July 19, InformationWeek – (International) Android attackers launch fake app market. Creating an entire fake application store to peddle malware is the strategy employed by the creator of “myadroidmaklet.net,” a third-party app market that purports to offer more than 50 apps for free download, including Adobe Flash Player, Angry Birds Rio, Google Maps, Mozilla Firefox, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, Opera, Skype, and World of Goo. However, all of these apps are really just a trojan app in disguise. Microsoft dubbed the underlying trojan Android app as SMSFakeSky, and noted it is designed to target Russian-speaking users. Source: http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/attacks/240003991

36. July 19, Threatpost – (International) Report: Bandwith-burning malware among biggest consumer threats. A new malware report indicates Android malware samples grew three-fold in the second quarter of 2012, and that 1 in every 140 devices connected to mobile networks was infected at some point. About 14 percent of household networks were hit by malware in the spring, with a 50 percent increase in high-level bots, trojans, and backdoors, according to the Q2 2012 Malware Report from Kindsight Security Labs. Among the biggest threats to consumers was the ZeroAccess botnet, which grew to more than 1.2 million super nodes resulting in ad-click fraud that at one point used bandwidth equivalent to 45 monthly movie downloads per subscriber. Source: http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/report-bandwith-burning-malware-among-biggest-consumer-threats-071912

Communications Sector

See items 35 and 36 above in the Information Technology Sector