Friday, May 9, 2014




Complete DHS Report for May 9, 2014

Daily Report

Details

 • The former president of Lafayette Bank pleaded guilty May 7 in a Northampton County, Pennsylvania court to running a $10.13 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded 90 investors in several States. – Allentown Morning Call See item 5 below in the Financial Services Sector

 • The U.S. Department of Transportation issued an emergency order to rail road representatives May 7 ordering them to inform State emergency management officials about large shipments of crude oil being transported through their States, the amount being shipped, and the trains’ county-by-county routes. – Associated Press

7. May 8, Associated Press – (International) Feds issue emergency order on crude oil trains. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued an emergency order to rail road representatives May 7 ordering them to inform State emergency management officials about large shipments of crude oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota, Montana, and Canada through their States, the amount being shipped, and the trains’ county-by-county routes. The DOT also issued a safety advisory urging shippers not to use older model tanks in shipments of crude oil. Source: http://www.dailyfreeman.com/20140508/feds-issue-emergency-order-on-crude-oil-trains

 • New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center in New York paid $4.8 million in a joint settlement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services May 7 over a 2010 privacy breach. – Associated Press

17. May 7, Associated Press – (New York) Top NYC hospital pays $4.8M settlement after regulators say patient data wound up online. New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center paid $4.8 million in a joint settlement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services May 7 for a 2010 privacy breach when Internet search engines were able to access health records of about 6,800 patients after a medical center physician deactivated a server on the hospital’s internal data network. Source: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/4c877b3a20b6409dbc8c1060841d3a38/NY--HIPAA-SETTLEMENT

 • About 150 residents from roughly 18 apartment buildings in southeast Washington, D.C. lost water service for several hours May 7-8 after a 20-inch water main failed. – WTTG 5 Washington, D.C.

24. May 8, WTTG 5 Washington, D.C. – (Washington, D.C.) Water main break expected to be repaired by later this afternoon. About 150 residents from roughly 18 apartment buildings in southeast Washington, D.C. lost water service for several hours after a 20-inch water main failed May 7. District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority crews worked to repair the break and officials stated that service should be restored May 8. Source: http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/25462377/water-main-repair-in-se-to-disrupt-service-some-delays-expected

Financial Services Sector

5. May 7, Allentown Morning Call – (National) Former bank president admits stealing millions in Ponzi scheme. The former president of Lafayette Bank pleaded guilty May 7 in a Northampton County, Pennsylvania court to running a $10.13 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded 90 investors in several States. Source: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-northampton-county-ponzi-scheme-bank-president-20140507,0,5167846.story

6. May 7, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – (New York) SEC announces charges and asset freeze against hedge fund advisory firm distributing falsified performance results. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed fraud charges and announced an asset freeze May 7 against New York-based Aphelion Fund Management for allegedly misrepresenting the assets it manages in order to raise $1.5 million from investors between 2013 and March 2014. Source: http://www.sec.gov/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370541746247

 Information Technology Sector
19. May 8, Help Net Security – (International) Malware peddlers prefer deceptive tactics to exploits. Microsoft released its latest Security Intelligence Report which found that attackers are concentrating on using deceptive downloads and ransomware rather than exploits for most attacks. The report noted that the Sefnit, Brantall, and Rotbrow families of malware were responsible for a large amount of deceptive malware attacks, among other findings. Source: http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=2763

20. May 8, Softpedia – (International) Koler Android ransomware targets users in 31 countries. Bitdefender researchers identified a new piece of ransomware dubbed Android.Trojan.Koler.A that is served either through a fake Android app or the Angler exploit kit. The ransomware targets users in 31 countries and displays fake law enforcement messages matched to the country when demanding a ransom. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Koler-Android-Ransomware-Targets-Users-in-31-Countries-441107.shtml

21. May 8, Softpedia – (International) Ground(ctrl) advises customers to change passwords following hack attack. Web site operator Ground(ctrl) notified customers and authorities after attackers breached the company’s systems and were able to obtain email addresses, passwords, and the expiration dates and last four digits of payment cards. The company advised customers to change their passwords. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ground-crtl-Advises-Customers-to-Change-Passwords-Following-Hack-Attack-441200.shtml

22. May 7, SC Magazine – (International) iOS 7.1 flaw lets hacker access contacts book. A programmer demonstrated that the Siri voice assistant on an iPhone running iOS 7.1 can be used to display a phone’s full list of contacts while locked and password protected. Source: http://www.scmagazineuk.com/ios-71-flaw-lets-hacker-access-contacts-book/article/345889/

 Communications Sector

23. May 8, Bradford Era – (Pennsylvania) Phone, internet service restored after Verizon outage. About 2,950 Verizon Communication customers across several counties in Pennsylvania lost phone line service May 6 for less than 18 hours after 4 modules experienced malfunctions at Verizon’s network facility in Bradford. The company is investigating the cause of the outage. Source: http://www.bradfordera.com/news/article_aaf5b01c-d65e-11e3-9824-0019bb2963f4.html