Wednesday, August 28, 2013



Wednesday, August 28, 2013   

Complete DHS Daily Report for August 28, 2013

Daily Report

Top Stories

 • Entergy Corp. announced that the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon, Vermont, will shut down permanently by the end of 2014, citing costs and market conditions. – Associated Press

2. August 27, Associated Press – (Vermont) Vermont Yankee nuke plant to close by end of 2014. Operator Entergy Corp. announced that the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon will shut down permanently by the end of 2014, citing costs, low wholesale energy prices, and market structures. The plant will remain under U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversight during its decommissioning process. Source: http://www.wfaa.com/news/business/221310401.html

 • Firefighters reached 20 percent containment of California’s 161,000-acre Rim Fire after the fire spread towards the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, threatening hydroelectric generators, which were temporarily shut down. – CNN

21. August 27, CNN – (California) Yosemite wildfire grows, threatens reservoir, power station. Firefighters reached 20 percent containment of California’s 161,000-acre Rim Fire August 26. The fire spread towards the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and potentially threatens San Francisco’s hydroelectric generators, which were temporarily shut down. Source: http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/27/us/california-yosemite-wildfire/

 • Several school districts around the Midwest cancelled classes, after-school sports practices, and games, and initiated early release schedules due to a heat wave. – Associated Press

22. August 26, Associated Press – (National) Heat prompts early dismissals in Midwest schools. Several school districts around the Midwest cancelled classes, after-school sports practices, and games, and initiated early release schedules due to a heat wave the week of August 26. Source: http://news.msn.com/us/heat-prompts-early-dismissals-in-midwest-schools

 • Researchers spotted a zero-day vulnerability in Java 6 currently being exploited in the wild, and warned there would be no patch for the older, unsupported Java version. – Softpedia See item 29 below in the Information Technology Sector

Details

Banking and Finance Sector

5. August 26, Reuters – (Indiana) SEC says Indiana man used Ponzi scheme to fund a reality TV show. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged a Noblesville man with running a $6 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 37 investors through his Guaranty Reserves Trust LLC firm. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/26/us-sec-ponzi-realtitytv-idUSBRE97P0WV20130826

6. August 26, New London Day – (Connecticut) NL woman pleads guilty in credit card scam. A New London woman pleaded guilty to her role in a fraudulent credit card scheme that allowed her and 10 co-conspirators to steal more than $362,000 from victims’ accounts. Source: http://www.theday.com/article/20130826/NWS01/130829740/1047

7. August 26, Cincinnati Business Courier – (Ohio) Business partner pleads guilty in investment fraud case. An Auburn commodities trader pleaded guilty to defrauding investors of $5.2 million through his firm, TS Capital Management. Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/08/26/tuberville-business-partner-pleads.html

8. August 23, Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel – (Florida) Man targeted fellow Haitians in $30-million Ponzi scheme, prosecutors say. Federal prosecutors charged a Georgia man with allegedly running an affinity scam targeting Haitian Americans in south Florida that defrauded investors of $30 million. Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-haitian-ponzi-schemer-charges-20130823,0,1571711.story

For another story, see item 30 below in the Information Technology Sector

Information Technology Sector

29. August 27, Softpedia – (International) Java 6 zero-day spotted in the wild, users advised to update to Java 7. Researchers at F-Secure spotted a zero-day vulnerability in Java 6 currently being exploited in the wild. Users are advised to update to Java 7 as there will be no patch for the no-longer-supported Java 6. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Java-6-Zero-Day-Spotted-in-the-Wild-Users-Advised-to-Update-to-Java-7-378432.shtml

30. August 27, Softpedia – (International) New DirtJumper variant capable of bypassing DDOS mitigation systems. Arbor Networks researchers identified a new variant of the DirtJumper distributed denial of service (DDoS) malware which includes new features including the ability to bypass some DDoS mitigation mechanisms. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/New-DirtJumper-Variant-Capable-of-Bypassing-DDOS-Mitigation-Systems-378564.shtml

31. August 27, Softpedia – (International) Chinese cybercriminals leverage G-20 Summit in espionage campaigns. Researchers at Rapid7 identified recent attacks by Chinese hacker group the Calc Team (also known as APT-12) using three similar pieces of malware in spearphishing campaigns using the upcoming G-20 Summit as bait. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Chinese-Cybercriminals-Leverage-G-20-Summit-in-Espionage-Campaigns-378552.shtml

32. August 27, Softpedia – (International) FBI warns of “search for missing children” spear phishing emails. The FBI warned users of a spearphishing campaign using three malicious files in emails and documents purporting to be from its National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/FBI-Warns-of-Search-for-Missing-Children-Spear-Phishing-Emails-378537.shtml

33. August 26, Threatpost – (International) Phony Adobe plug-in malware bypasses Craigslist spam controls. Researchers at Solera Networks discovered a spam campaign on Craigslist that uses malware on compromised machines to post spam advertisements. Source: http://threatpost.com/phony-adobe-plug-in-malware-bypassess-craigslist-spam-controls

Communications Sector

34. August 26, Laurinburg Exchange – (North Carolina) Downtown loses cable services. Time Warner Cable customers in Scotland County and surrounding areas, lost cable, Internet, and telephone services for more than five hours after a semi-truck damaged a fiber optic cable August 26. Source: http://www.laurinburgexchange.com/news/home_top/2399449/Downtown-loses-cable-services