Complete DHS Report for March 24, 2014
Daily Report
Details
• North Carolina officials announced March 20
that Duke Energy illegally pumped 61 million gallons of contaminated water from
its Cape Fear Plant into the Cape Fear River over the course of several months.
– Associated Press
1.
March 20, Associated Press – (North Carolina) Regulators say Duke
pumped coal ash into NC river. The North Carolina Department of Environment
and Natural Resources announced March 20 that Duke Energy illegally pumped 61
million gallons of contaminated water from its Cape Fear Plant into the Cape
Fear River over the course of several months, and issued the utility a formal
notice of violation. Source: http://news.msn.com/us/regulators-say-duke-pumped-coal-ash-into-nc-river
• Tonawanda Coke Corp., in New York was fined
$12.5 million and its former environmental manager was sentenced to 1 year in
jail March 19 for knowingly releasing hundreds of tons of benzene into the air
and improperly handling hazardous sludge. – Associated Press
3.
March 19, Associated Press – (New York) Coal-burning NY coke plant
fined $12.5M for Clean Air Act violations; manager gets jail, fine. Tonawanda
Coke Corp., was fined $12.5 million and its former environmental manager was
sentenced to 1 year in jail March 19 for knowingly releasing hundreds of tons
of carcinogen benzene into the air between 2005 and 2009 and improperly
handling hazardous sludge on the ground at its New York plant. Source: http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/14d874ed573e4d429b3c3c4fa10f5e73/US--Air-Pollution-Criminal-Charge
• The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) inspector
general stated March 20 that over 200,000 individuals have been targeted by the
largest phone scam the agency has seen, with over $1 million stolen by callers
claiming to be IRS agents. – Associated Press See item 7
below in the Financial Services Sector
• Authorities are investigating the cause of a
March 21 fire at the Mariner’s Cove Motor Inn in Point Pleasant Beach, New
Jersey, which killed 3 people and injured 8 others, with 10 people remaining
unaccounted for. – Newark Star-Ledger
24.
March 21, Newark Star-Ledger – (New Jersey) Point Pleasant Beach
motel fire kills 3, injures 8. Authorities are investigating the cause of a
March 21 fire at the Mariner’s Cove Motor Inn in Point Pleasant Beach, which
killed three people and injured eight others. About 40 guests were staying at
the hotel at the time of the blaze, and officials are searching for 10 people
who remained unaccounted for. Source: http://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/2014/03/raging_point_pleasant_beach_motel_fire_kills_2_injures_8.html
Financial Services Sector
7. March 21, Associated Press – (National) Fake IRS
agent scam bilks taxpayers of $1 million. The inspector general of the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) stated March 20 that over 200,000 individuals
have been targeted by the largest phone scam the agency has seen, with over $1
million stolen by callers claiming to be IRS agents. The criminals behind the
scam obscure caller ID indicators to make it appear as if they are calling from
a legitimate number, and in some cases know the last four digits of targets’
Social Security numbers. Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/finance/fake-irs-agent-scam-bilks-taxpayers-of-million/article_1e830ad1-a47c-59d4-b3d3-c81a936921c2.html
8. March 20, Clarion Ledger – (National) Biloxi attorney
pleads guilty to Ponzi-type fraud scheme. A Biloxi, Mississippi attorney
pleaded guilty March 20 to running a Ponzi-like scheme though two companies
with offices in several States that he used to commingle trust accounts with
personal and business accounts and then divert and obscure the diversion of
funds between accounts for his own personal use. Prosecutors are seeking more
than $7.7 million in restitution for victims. Source: http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20140320/NEWS/303200030/Biloxi-attorney-pleads-guilty-Ponzi-type-fraud-scheme
Information Technology Sector
19.
March 21, Softpedia – (International) GitHub falls victim of another
DDoS attack. GitHub reported March 21 that it was the target of an ongoing
distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack and was taking measures to mitigate
the attack. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/GitHub-Falls-Victim-of-Another-DDOS-Attack-433465.shtml
20.
March 20, Threatpost – (International) Google encrypts all Gmail
connections. Google announced March 20 that it has switched all Gmail
connections to HTTPS, with all connections using SSL encryption in order to
protect users’ data and privacy from attackers. The change follows Google’s
encryption of all links between its data centers. Source: http://threatpost.com/google-encrypts-all-gmail-connections/104918
21.
March 20, Softpedia – (International) BlackOS: New malicious software
used by cybercriminals to redirect traffic. Researchers at Trend Micro
analyzed a piece of malware called BlackOS which automates the redirection of
traffic from malicious or compromised Web sites. BlackOS started being
advertised on underweb forums in February and is based on the “Tale of the
North” software. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/BlackOS-New-Malicious-Software-Used-by-Cybercriminals-to-Redirect-Traffic-433325.shtml
22.
March 19, Seattle Post-Intelligencer – (International) Ex-Microsoft
employee charged with passing blogger trade secrets. A former Microsoft
employee was arrested March 19 and charged with allegedly stealing Microsoft
trade secrets while working for the company and sharing them with a blogger.
Source: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Ex-Microsoft-employee-charged-with-passing-5331715.php
Communications Sector
23.
March 21, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette – (Indiana) WBOI transformer
damaged in outage. Officials with Fort Wayne’s public radio station WBOI
89.1 FM reported March 20 that the station will be broadcasting on limited
signal strength indefinitely due to a transformer blow out on a power line that
left the transmitter damaged. Source: http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140321/LOCAL/140329901/1002/local