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