Monday, September 23, 2013



  
Complete DHS Daily Report for September 23, 2013

Daily Report

Top Stories

 • Researchers identified a watering hole cyberespionage campaign targeting energy sector companies in various parts of the world, a supplier company to nuclear and aerospace companies, and financial services companies that specialize in the energy sector. – Softpedia

5. September 19, Softpedia – (International) Energy sector companies targeted in watering hole attack, Cisco warns. Researchers at Cisco identified a watering hole cyberattack campaign targeting energy sector companies in various parts of the world, a supplier company to nuclear and aerospace companies, and financial services companies that specialize in the energy sector. Ten Web sites were compromised by iframe injection and use iframes to load exploit code and malware taking advantage of vulnerabilities in Java, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Thunderbird. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Energy-Sector-Companies-Targeted-in-Watering-Hole-Attack-Cisco-Warns-384511.shtml

 • Two Union County, New Jersey women were indicted for allegedly depositing more than $600,000 in counterfeit checks into more than 120 TD Bank accounts and then withdrawing the funds in small amounts. – Newark Star-Ledger See item 10 below in the Banking and Finance Sector

 • Researchers discovered a new family of ransomware dubbed CryptoLock which encrypts files important to businesses with AES encryption and demands a ransom to decrypt them. – Softpedia See item 24 below in the Information Technology Sector

 • An alleged gang-related shooting in a Back of the Yards neighborhood basketball court in Chicago injured 13 people including a young boy. – USA Today

30. September 20, USA Today – (Illinois) Boy, 3, among 13 injured in Chicago park shooting. An alleged gang-related shooting in a Back of the Yards neighborhood basketball court in Chicago injured 13 people including a young boy September 19. No deaths were reported. Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/20/chicago-shootings-back-of-the-yards/2841251/

Details

Banking and Finance Sector

8. September 20, Threatpost – (International) FBI warning users about Beta Bot malware. The FBI warned users about a campaign using the Beta Bot trojan to target online payment systems and financial institutions, as well as blocking users’ access to security Web sites and disabling antivirus programs. The malware has been seen propagating via Skype and USB thumb drives Source: http://threatpost.com/fbi-warning-users-about-beta-bot-malware

9. September 19, Orlando Sentinel – (Florida) Astatula man charged with $44 million bank fraud. Federal authorities charged an Astatula man for allegedly using fraudulent information, forged bank statements, and fake tax returns to obtain over $44 million in loans from financial institutions. The man would allegedly obtain loans to pay off previous loans and used the money to make expensive personal purchases. Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-astatula-fraud-benevides-20130919,0,4228840.story

10. September 19, Newark Star-Ledger – (New Jersey) Two Union County women indicted in alleged wide-ranging counterfeit check fraud. Two women from Union County were indicted for allegedly depositing more than $600,000 in counterfeit checks into more than 120 TD Bank accounts and then withdrawing the funds in small amounts, resulting in $400,000 in losses to the bank. Source: http://www.nj.com/union/index.ssf/2013/09/two_union_county_women_indicted_in_alleged_wide-ranging_counterfeit_check_fraud.html

11. September 19, Macon Telegraph – (Georgia) 16 former Security Bank officers, directors sued for $21.76 million. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) sued 16 former officers and directors of the failed Security Bank based in Macon for their alleged negligence that led to the failure of the bank. The FDIC is seeking to recover at least $21.76 million. Source: http://www.macon.com/2013/09/19/2673929/16-former-security-bank-officers.html

For another story, see item 5 above in the Top Stories

Information Technology Sector

24. September 20, Softpedia – (International) New file encrypting ransomware CryptoLocker targets organizations. Emsisoft researchers discovered a new family of ransomware dubbed CryptoLock (or Trojan:Win32/Crilock) which encrypts files important to businesses with AES encryption and demands a ransom to decrypt them. The ransomware appears to be targeting businesses due to the types of files it encrypts and the types of emails used to distribute its downloader. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/New-File-Encrypting-Ransomware-CryptoLocker-Targets-Organizations-384790.shtml

25. September 19, The Register – (International) New ransomware strain forces hapless users into becoming Bitcoin miners. A new variant of the Reveton ransomware spotted by researchers at Malwarebytes locks out users from their computers and then uses the infected system to mine Bitcoins. Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/19/bitcoinmining_ransomware/

26. September 19, Threatpost – (International) Apple’s iOS 7 update fixes 80 security bugs. Apple’s release of the new version of its mobile operating system, iOS7, fixes several security issues that could be used to bypass security measures, perform denial of service (DoS) attacks, or allow arbitrary code execution. Source: http://threatpost.com/apples-ios-7-update-fixes-80-security-bugs

For another story, see item 8 above in the Banking and Finance Sector
Communications Sector

27. September 20, Asbury Park Press– (New Jersey) Verizon Wireless outages continue throughout NJ. Verizon Wireless outages for Ocean County and several other surrounding area Verizon customers lasted several hours beginning September 19. Verizon restored service September 20 and did not report a known cause for the outage. Source: http://www.app.com/article/20130919/NJNEWS/309190104/

28. September 19, Taos News– (New Mexico) Cell and Internet service restored for Taos residents. CenturyLink customers in Taos lost cellular and Internet service for 8 hours September 19 before it was restored after a third party construction company damaged a fiber optics cable. Source: http://www.taosnews.com/news/article_567187f0-2141-11e3-9a24-001a4bcf887a.html

29. September 19, Staten Island NY 1 New York – (New York) Residents cleared to return to SoHo apartment after fears it was unstable. The New York City Fire Department evacuated a SoHo apartment building September 19 until the building could be inspected by a structural engineer after residents complained of excessive shaking during construction adjacent to the building. The building was later cleared for occupancy. Source: http://statenisland.ny1.com/content/news/189092/residents-cleared-to-return-to-soho-apartment-after-fears-it-was-unstable