Complete DHS Report for January
24, 2014
Daily Report
• The U.S. Department of Justice accused
Virginia-based US Investigations Services LLC of defrauding the federal
government of millions of dollars by filing more than 660,000 flawed background
investigations. – United Press International
13.
January 23, United Press International – (National) U.S. accuses firm
that vetted NSA contractor of fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice accused
Virginia-based US Investigations Services LLC of defrauding the federal
government of millions of dollars by filing more than 660,000 flawed background
investigations. The company is accused of rushing improperly reviewed
background checks through the system and hiding a dumping practice from
authorities. Source: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/01/23/US-accuses-firm-that-vetted-Snowden-of-fraud/UPI-84301390458900/
• An analysis of 139 U.S. retailers found
1,035 instances of unique malware infections actively communicating with
attackers, averaging 7.5 infections per company. – The Register See item 21
below in the Information Technology
Sector
• Two people were hospitalized and one
firefighter was injured after a drug lab exploded at a California apartment
complex, leaving at least 146 residents displaced. – KTXL 40 Sacramento
30.
January 22, KTXL 40 Sacramento – (California) Explosion rocks Rancho
Cordova apartment complex. Two people were hospitalized and one firefighter
was injured after a drug lab exploded at a Rancho Cordova apartment complex January
22. At least 146 residents were displaced by the explosion, which forced
authorities to shut off services to the building. Source: http://fox40.com/2014/01/22/explosion-rocks-rancho-cordova-apartment-complex/
• A man was charged with setting at least 10
fires that damaged 3 apartment complexes and a car at an auto dealership in
Santa Monica. – Los Angeles Times
34. January 20, Los Angeles Times – (California) Suspected
serial arsonist arrested by Santa Monica police. Authorities announced
January 20 that a man was charged in connection with setting at least 10 fires
that damaged 3 apartment complexes and a car at an auto dealership in Santa
Monica during a 10-day span that began December 30, 2013. Source: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-suspected-serial-arsonist-arrested-by-santa-monica-police-20140120,0,6228280.story#axzz2rEyVupz4
Details
Financial Services Sector
4. January 23,
Softpedia – (International) Mining pool “Give Me Coins” hacked, 10,000
Litecoins stolen. The administrators of the Give Me Coins virtual currency
mining pool stated that the service was compromised by attackers who stole
around $230,000 worth of the Litecoin virtual currency. The attackers were
believed to have used a SQL injection vulnerability to breach the service.
Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Mining-Pool-Give-Me-Coins-Hacked-10-000-Litecoins-Stolen-419921.shtml
5. January 21,
Denver Post – (Colorado) FDIC sues former execs of United Western Bank to
recover on questionable loans. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
filed a lawsuit against six former officers and three former directors of the
failed United Western Bank, seeking damages related to questionable loans that
defaulted and caused $35 million in losses to the bank. Source: http://www.denverpost.com/portal/business/ci_24961568/fdic-sues-ex-uwb-execs-recover-questionable-loans?_loopback=1
For another story,
see item 21 below in the Information
Technology
Information Technology Sector
20. January 23, Softpedia – (International) Snapchat’s
account registration CAPTCHA system hacked. Two researchers separately
reported that they developed scripts to automate the solving of Snapchat’s
CAPTCHA system, which could allow accounts to be created automatically. Source:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Snapchat-s-Account-Registration-CAPTCHA-System-Hacked-420052.shtml
21. January 23, The Register – (International) When
ZOMBIES go shopping; 40m Target customer breach? That’s NOTHING! An
analysis of 139 U.S. retailers between November 2013 and January 12 performed
by BitSight found 1,035 instances of unique malware infections actively
communicating with attackers, averaging 7.5 infections per company. The Neurevt
trojan was the most common piece of malware found during the analysis, among
other findings. Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/23/retail_malware_epidemic/
22. January 23, SC Magazine – (International) Potentially
major XSS/JavaScript flaw found in Office 365. Researchers at Cogmotive
identified a vulnerability in Microsoft Office 365 that could allow a user with
an organization email to use a JavaScript code to gain full administrator
permissions across the organization’s Office 365 environment. The vulnerability
was reported to Microsoft and patched. Source: http://www.scmagazineuk.com/potentially-major-xssjavascript-flaw-found-in-office-365/article/330685/
23. January 23, Softpedia – (International) Experts spot
third variant of Mac trojan used by governments in targeted attacks. Researchers
at Intego identified a new variant of the Crisis trojan that targets Mac OS X
systems and has been used by governments in targeted cyberattacks. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Experts-Spot-Third-Variant-of-Mac-Trojan-Used-by-Governments-in-Targeted-Attacks-419899.shtml
24. January 23, Help Net Security – (International) Facebook
awards $33,500 bounty for critical flaw. Facebook awarded a security researcher
$33,500 as part of its bug bounty program for disclosing an XML external
entities (XXE) vulnerability that could be exploited to allow attackers to read
arbitrary files on Facebook’s servers. Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=16251
25. January 23, Threatpost – (International) Chrome
eavesdropping exploit published. A researcher released exploit code for a
vulnerability he reported in Google’s Chrome browser that could allow a
malicious Web site to use a computer’s microphone to eavesdrop without the user
being aware. Source: http://threatpost.com/chrome-eavesdropping-exploit-published/103798
26. January 22, Softpedia – (International) World
Economic Forum’s website plagued by XSS and other security issues. Researchers
at High-Tech Bridge identified several security issues on the Web site of the
World Economic Forum, including cross-site-scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities, an
invalid SSL certificate, and a flaw that exposed the email addresses of
individuals who had contacted the organization. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/World-Economic-Forum-s-Website-Plagued-by-XSS-and-Other-Security-Issues-419674.shtml
27. January 22, Threatpost – (International) Small
number of malicious TOR exit relays snooping on traffic. Researchers reported
in a paper that 25 exit relays in the The Onion Router (TOR) network were
configured maliciously or in a way that could present a security issue. The
malicious or misconfigured exit relays could allow man-in-the-middle attacks
and traffic monitoring. Source: http://threatpost.com/small-number-of-malicious-tor-exit-relays-snooping-on-traffic/103771
For another story, see item 4 above in the Financial Services Sector
Communications Sector
Nothing to
report