Friday, November 1, 2013



Complete DHS Daily Report for November 1, 2013

Daily Report

Top Stories

 • Police are searching for thieves responsible for breaking into an American Electric Power substation October 29, and knocking out power to thousands of schools and businesses in Moundsville, West Virginia, after they cut copper wires. – Wheeling Intelligencer; Wheeling News-Register

2. October 31, Wheeling Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register – (West Virginia) AEP offers $5K reward in blackout copper theft. Police are searching for thieves responsible for breaking into an American Electric Power substation in Moundsville October 29, and knocking out power to thousands of schools and businesses after they cut copper and other metal wires. The utility is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. Source: http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/591694/AEP-Offers--5K-Reward-In-Blackout-Copper-Theft.html?nav=515

 • Minnesota’s Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Florida-based United Credit Recovery LLC for allegedly falsifying collection and legal documents in order to convince customers and courts to make payments after purchasing billions of dollars in overdraft debt from banks beginning in 2007. – Minneapolis Star Tribune See item 4 below in the Banking and Finance Sector

 • The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission reported that approximately 200,000 gallons of untreated sewage spilled into Reddy Branch Creek in Montgomery County, Maryland, after a pressurized 16-inch main broke October 29. – Washington Post

10. October 30, Washington Post – (Maryland) Sewer pipe break sends untreated sewage into Montgomery Creek. The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission reported that approximately 200,000 gallons of untreated sewage spilled into Reddy Branch Creek in Montgomery County after a pressurized 16-inch main broke October 29. To relieve pressure on the pipe during repairs, the Reddy Branch Wastewater Pumping Station was shut down. Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/wp/2013/10/30/sewer-pipe-break-sends-untreated-sewage-into-montgomery-creek/

 • The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new voluntary and comprehensive guidelines October 30 as required by a 2011 federal law to schools nationwide on how to protect children with food allergies. – Associated Press

13. October 31, Associated Press – (National) Feds post food allergy guidelines for schools. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new voluntary and comprehensive guidelines October 30 as required by a 2011 federal law to schools nationwide on how to protect children with food allergies. Source: http://www.sfgate.com/news/medical/article/Feds-post-food-allergy-guidelines-for-schools-4939073.php

Details

Banking and Finance Sector

4. October 30, Minneapolis Star Tribune – (National) Minnesota AG sues Florida debt buyer over fake affidavits. Minnesota’s Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Florida-based United Credit Recovery LLC for allegedly cutting and pasting supposedly notarized signatures onto collection and legal documents in order to convince customers and courts to make payments, award judgments, and to increase the value of portfolios for resale. The company bought billions of dollars in overdraft debt from major national banks since 2007. Source: http://www.startribune.com/business/229901441.html

Information Technology Sector

20. October 31, IDG News Service – (International) Microsoft’s Windows Azure cloud hit by worldwide management interruption. Microsoft’s Windows Azure service experienced an issue with its Compute management function between October 30 and October 31 that affected users in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Source: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/103113-microsoft39s-windows-azure-cloud-hit-275459.html

21. October 31, Help Net Security – (International) Spike in suspicious traffic and TOR usage, says threat report. Solutionary released its third quarter 2013 Quarterly Threat Intelligence Report which found there was an increase in anomalous ICMP traffic outside of normal activity and that traffic on the TOR network increased by 350 percent, among other findings. Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=15865

22. October 31, The Register – (International) Mavericks Mail’s spam-spewing ‘flaw’ was scripted by red-faced user. Cloud messaging service FastMail retracted a report regarding Apple OS X Mavericks that caused large volumes of spam emails to be generated after finding that the issue was inadvertently caused by an applescript written by one of their employees. Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/10/31/mavericks_mails_spamspewing_flaw_was_scripted_by_redfaced_user/

23. October 30, Computerworld – (International) Infosys ran ‘unlawful’ visa scheme, U.S. alleges in settlement. Infosys agreed to pay $34 million in a settlement with the U.S. government for allegedly violating visa laws to avoid tax liabilities and reduce expenses. Source: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/103013-infosys-ran-39unlawful39-visa-scheme-275429.html

24. October 30, Threatpost – (International) HTTP 301 redirections lead to trouble for mobile apps. Researchers at Skycure found that thousands of mobile apps developed for Apple iOS can be forced to display fake or malicious content due to a vulnerability dubbed HTTP Request Hijacking. Source: http://threatpost.com/http-301-redirections-lead-to-trouble-for-mobile-apps

Communications Sector

Nothing to report