Friday, March 28, 2014




Complete DHS Report for March 28, 2014

Daily Report

Details

 • Authorities announced March 26 that 13 individuals in Chicago and 2 people in Bulgaria were arrested in connection with an alleged international money laundering scheme that used fraudulent payment cards to withdraw hundreds of thousands of dollars from ATMs. – Chicago Tribune See item 5 below in the Financial Services Sector

 • Two people were killed and more than a dozen others were injured in a crash involving 49 vehicles along Interstate 81 in Berkeley County, West Virginia, March 26, prompting the interstate to close for over 4 hours. – WJLA 7 Washington, D.C.

8. March 26, WJLA 7 Washington, D.C. – (West Virginia) Report: Two dead in I-81 W.Va. crash. Two people were killed and more than a dozen others were injured in a chain-reaction crash involving 49 vehicles along Interstate 81 in Berkeley County March 26. Southbound lanes of Interstate 81 were closed for more than 4 hours while northbound lanes were closed for over 8 hours. Source: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/03/report-3-people-dead-in-i-81-west-va-crash-101549.html

 • A March 26 power outage at the McDowell Creek sewage plant halted an ultraviolet disinfection, allowing more than 73,000 gallons of partially treated sewage to flow into a tributary of Charlotte, North Carolina’s water supply. – Charlotte Observer

14. March 26, Charlotte Observer – (North Carolina) 73,000 gallons of partly-treated sewage flows into Charlotte creek. A March 26 power outage at the McDowell Creek sewage plant halted an ultraviolet disinfection, a final treatment step, allowing more than 73,000 gallons of partially treated sewage to flow into a tributary of Charlotte’s water supply which drains into Mountain Island Lake. Operators began diverting the sewage into storage basins. Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/03/26/4796684/partly-treated-sewage-flows-into.html#.UzQHAT9OWM8

 • Two firefighters were killed, 13 others were injured, and several police officers were hospitalized as they battled a 9-alarm fire at a brownstone in Boston March 26. – Associated Press

26. March 27, Associated Press – (Massachusetts) Boston mourns 2 firefighters killed in blaze. Two firefighters were killed, 13 others injured, and several police officers were hospitalized as they battled a 9-alarm fire at a brownstone in Boston’s Back Bay area March 26. Responders rescued residents from the building before strong winds fueled the flames that quickly engulfed the building. Source: http://news.msn.com/us/boston-mourns-2-firefighters-killed-in-blaze

Financial Services Sector

5. March 26, Chicago Tribune – (International) Arrests made in international ATM skimming. Authorities announced March 26 that 13 individuals in Chicago and 2 in Bulgaria were arrested in connection with an alleged international payment card fraud and money laundering scheme that used fraudulent payment cards to withdraw hundreds of thousands of dollars from ATMs. One additional suspect was previously arrested and another remains at large. Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-arrests-made-in-international-atm-skimming-20140326,0,2239227.story

Information Technology Sector

22. March 27, Help Net Security – (International) Hidden crypto currency-mining code spotted in apps on Google Play. Researchers at Lookout warned that Android apps which include hidden code used to mine for several forms of cryptocurrency have been spotted being offered on Spanish underweb forums. Trend Micro researchers also spotted two apps available in the Google Play store which contain cryptocurrency mining code, similar to compromised apps originally discovered by G Data researchers. Source: http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=2746

23. March 27, Help Net Security – (International) Cerberus app users warned about data breach. Cerberus Security Team advised users of their Android security app to reset their passwords as a precaution after suspicious traffic was detected and blocked on the company’s servers. Attackers were able to gain access to some users’ usernames and encrypted passwords during the breach. Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=16588

24. March 27, The Register – (International) When ZOMBIES attack: DDoS traffic triples as 20Gbps becomes the new normal. Incapsula released a report on distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack mitigation which found that DDoS attack volumes are increasing, with 20Gbps or above attacks occurring in around one-in-three attacks, among other findings. Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/27/ddos_trends_incapsula/

25. March 26, SC Magazine – (International) Windows trojan packs punch, downloads ransomware “Cribit.” Trend Micro researchers found that the Fareit trojan is being used to spread a ransomware known as Cribit that encrypts victims’ files and demands a ransom in Bitcoins. The trojan has previously been used to download other malware such as Zeus. Source: http://www.scmagazine.com/windows-trojan-packs-punch-downloads-ransomware-cribit/article/339958/

Communications Sector

Nothing to report