Complete DHS Daily Report for August 20, 2013
Daily Report
Top Stories
• CenterPoint Energy reported August 16 it restored power to
some of the 103,000 who lostpower following an August 16 storm but the number
without electricity was still above60,000. – Epoch Times
2. August 17, Epoch Times– (Texas) Houston: storm leaves
more than 100,000 without electricity. CenterPoint Energy reported August
16 that it had restored power to some of the 103,000 who lost power following a
storm August 16 but the number without electricity was still above 60,000.
Heavy rainfall, hail, and high winds grounded flights at the Bush
Intercontinental Airport while the rain flooded some businesses and streets.
Source: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/250041-houston-storm-leaves-more-than-100000-without-electricity/
• The State of
California and Canadian utility company Powerex reached a $750 millionrefund
settlement deal over the Canadian utility overcharging California ratepayers
duringthe 2000-2001 energy crisis. – Associated Press
3. August 16, Associated
Press –
(International) Calif., Canadian utility reach $750M settlement over energy
crisis. The State of California and Canadian utility company Powerex
reached a $750 million refund settlement deal over the Canadian utility
overcharging California ratepayers during the 2000-2001 energy crisis. Source: http://www.scpr.org/news/2013/08/16/38739/calif-canadian-utility-reach-750m-settlement-over/
• A smoky truck
fire damaged a beam on the Queensboro Bridge in New York City August16, forcing
several parts of the bridge to stay closed for most of the August 17 weekend. –WNBC
4 New York
11. August 16, WNBC 4 New
York – (New York) Smoky
Truck fire shuts down parts of Queensboro Bridge, causes major delays. A
smoky truck fire damaged a beam on the Queensboro Bridge in New York City
August 16, forcing several parts of the bridge to stay closed for most of the
August 17 weekend. Source: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Queensboro-Bridge-Fire-NYC-Smoke--219929231.html
• Fire crews reached 25 percent containment on the 31,000
acre Patch Springs Fire in TooleCounty August 19, allowing the reopening of
State Route 199 and the ending of evacuationorders for 70 residents. – KSTU
12 Salt Lake City
23.
August 19, KTSU 13 Salt Lake City –
(Utah) State Route 199 reopens, Patch Springs Fire 25 percent contained. Fire
crews reached 25 percent containment on the 31,000 acre Patch Springs Fire in
Toole County August 19, allowing the reopening of State Route 199 and the
ending of evacuation orders for 70 residents. Source: http://fox13now.com/2013/08/18/patch-springs-fire-still-ablaze-at-25-containment/
Details
Banking and Finance Sector
5. August 16, Softpedia – (Maryland; Virginia;
Washington D.C.) Ten people charged for alleged involvement in Washington DC
identity theft ring. Ten individuals were arrested for allegedly running a
large identity theft ring in the Washington D.C. area by recruiting employees
at several businesses to steal personal information from at least 600
customers. The group then allegedly opened lines of credit in victims' names,
with police finding more than 280 fake identification documents during arrests.
Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ten-People-Charged-for-Alleged-Involvement-in-Washington-DC-Identity-Theft-Ring-375978.shtml
6. August 16, Gothamist – (New York) Pret A
Manger employees allegedly stole over $10K in card-skimming scheme. Two
former employees at Pret A Manger restaurants in New York City were charged
with allegedly stealing over $10,000 in a skimming operation that stole
customers' payment card information. Source: http://gothamist.com/2013/08/16/pret_a_manger_employees_allegedly_s.php
Information Technology Sector
29.August
19, SC Magazine – (International) Fake Adobe Flash Player update extension
serves salacious spam ads. A fake Adobe Flash Player update extension for
Chrome, Firefox, and Safari browsers has been found in a widespread campaign
that injects spam ads onto regular Web sites. Source: http://www.scmagazineuk.com/fake-adobe-flash-player-update-extension-serves-salacious-spam-ads/article/307835/
30. August
19, Help Net Security – (International) LastPass bug leaks plain
text passwords. Users of the LastPass password manager were advised to
update to the newest version of the software after a bug was discovered that
could expose users' passwords if they are using Internet Explorer. Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=15424
31. August
18, Network World – (International) "Jekyll" test attack sneaks through
Apple App Store, wreaks havoc on iOS. A research team designed and tested a
malware test app for iOS called Jekyll that was able to sneak through Apple's
App Store review process and then reassemble itself into malware that can
perform a variety of functions even while inside the iOS 'sandbox.' Source: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/081913-jekyll-test-attack-sneaks-through-272947.html
32. August
18, Computerworld – (International) Microsoft restores Outlook.com after
three-day outage -- sort of. Microsoft resolved a 3-day partial outage of
its Outlook email service August 17, though some users still reported issues
with syncing their mobile devices to the service. Source: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/081813-microsoft-restores-outlookcom-after-three-day-272946.html
33. August
17, The Register – (International) Google goes dark for 2 minutes, kills 40% of
world's net traffic. All Google services including email, YouTube,
experienced an outage that lasted between 1 and 5 minutes August 16, causing
total Internet traffic to drop by 40 percent during the outage. Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08/17/google_outage/
34. August
16, Help Net Security – (International) Firm found using browser
plugins to inject unauthorized ads on YouTube. Ad firm Sambreel was found
to be using two plugins to inject unauthorized ads into YouTube via two
plugins. Malware peddlers have previously been found to use the unauthorized
ads to direct users to malicious sites. Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=15419
Communications Sector
35. August
19, Associated Press– (Connecticut) Conn. Police: Cable outage not 9-1-1-worthy. Fairfield
Police Department used its social media page to let citizens know a cable
outage did not represent an emergency or a police-related concern after the
southwestern Connecticut department received several calls August 18 following
a Cablevision commercial power outage in the area. Service has been restored in
the affected area. Source: http://www.cw56.com/news/articles/local/connecticut/10011460842672/conn-police-cable-outage-not-911-worthy/