Thursday, August 21, 2014




Complete DHS Report for August 21, 2014

Daily Report

Top Stories

 · Heavy rain closed portions of Interstate 17 and other major roads in Phoenix, Arizona, August 19 and prompted at least a dozen rescues of residents and motorists trapped in vehicles and homes, flooded a school, and swept away hundreds of cactuses from a farm while flights were delayed up to 2 hours due to the storm. – Associated Press 

8. August 20, Associated Press – (Arizona) Flood leads to dramatic rescues in Phoenix area. Heavy rain and flooding closed portions of Interstate 17 and several other major roads in Phoenix August 19 while flights from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport were delayed up to 2 hours due to the storm. The storm prompted at least a dozen rescues of residents and motorists trapped in vehicles and homes, flooded a school, and swept away hundreds of cactuses and other plants from a farm. Source: http://news.msn.com/us/floods-force-dramatic-rescues-in-phoenix-area

 · Firefighters reached 35 percent containment August 19 of the Junction Fire in California near the south entrance to Yosemite National Park, and mandatory evacuations were lifted for California State Route 41 and all areas west of the highway. – Los Angeles Times 

18. August 19, Los Angeles Times – (California) Junction fire near Yosemite 35% contained as firefighters make progress. Firefighters reached 35 percent containment August 19 of the Junction Fire, which was downgraded in size to 612 acres near the south entrance to Yosemite National Park in the Sierra foothills. Mandatory evacuations were lifted for California State Route 41 and nearly all areas west of the highway. Source: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-firefighters-make-progress-junction-fire-20140819-story.html

 · Authorities in Aurora, Colorado, charged three juvenile males August 19 in connection with attempting to detonate a pipe bomb at Mrachek Middle School August 9, prompting the cancellation of classes after the device was discovered August 11. – KUSA 9 Denver 

21. August 19, KUSA 9 Denver – (Colorado) 3 juveniles charged in pipe bomb incident. Aurora authorities charged three juvenile males August 19 in connection with attempting to detonate a pipe bomb at Mrachek Middle School August 9, prompting the cancellation of classes after the device, which only briefly ignited, was discovered August 11. Source: http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2014/08/19/3-juveniles-charged-in-pipe-bomb-incident/14307353/

 · Mizado Cocina, a restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana, notified about 8,000 customers that their payment card information may have been breached after the business discovered that a hacker installed malware known as Backoff on the restaurant’s point of sale system May 9. – New Orleans Times-Picayune 

31. August 19, New Orleans Times-Picayune – (Louisiana) Restaurant Mizado Cocina says customer credit card data breached by hacker. The New Orleans restaurant Mizado Cocina notified about 8,000 customers that their payment card information, including names, card numbers, and CVV security codes, may have been breached after the business discovered that a hacker installed malware known as Backoff on the restaurant’s point of sale system May 9. The restaurant’s IT company replaced affected computer hardware and the business’s point of sale system was secured July 18. Source: http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2014/08/restaurant_mizado_cocina_says.html
 
Financial Services Sector

5. August 19, South Florida Sun Sentinel – (Florida) Ponzi ‘feeder’ admits $20M role in fraud. A Coral Springs man pleaded guilty in federal court August 19 to directing over $20 million of investors’ funds into a $1.4 billion Ponzi scheme before it collapsed in 2009. Source: http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-08-19/news/fl-frank-preve-rothstein-pleads-20140819_1_rothstein-fraud-ponzi-scheme-scott-rothstein

6. August 19, Bellingham Herald – (Washington) ‘Alabama Band Bandit’ bank robber caught in Everett. The suspect known as the “Alabama Band Bandit” was arrested August 19 in Everett. The Woodinville man is suspected in the robbery of five banks in western Washington during July. Source: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2014/08/19/3809829/alabama-band-bandit-bank-robber.html

7. August 19, WBAL 11 Baltimore – (Maryland) Man arrested on credit card fraud, theft charges. A New York City man was arrested August 19 at a Target store in Glen Burnie for allegedly using over 100 suspected cloned payment cards to purchase around $17,000 worth of gift cards. Source: http://www.wbaltv.com/news/man-arrested-on-credit-card-fraud-theft-charges/27617400

For additional stories, see item 25 abelow in Information Technology and 31 above in Top Stories

Information Technology Sector

23. August 20, The Register – (International) Cryptolocker flogged on YouTube. Two researchers reported that cybercriminals have been observed to use purchased ad space on YouTube in order to redirect users to malicious sites serving the Cryptolocker ransomware. The researchers are scheduled to present at the Virus Bulletin 2014 conference detailing how legitimate ad networks could be used to spread malware. Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/08/20/cryptolocker_flogged_on_youtube/

24. August 20, Securityweek – (International) Vulnerability in WordPress Mobile Pack exposes password-protected posts. Researchers with dxw Security identified and reported a vulnerability in the Mobile Pack plugin for WordPress that could allow access to password-protected posts. The vulnerability was reported July 24 and closed August 19 with the release of Mobile Pack version 2.0.2. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/vulnerability-wordpress-mobile-pack-exposes-password-protected-posts

25. August 19, IDG News Service – (International) ‘Reveton’ ransomware upgraded with powerful password stealer. Avast researchers analyzed a new variant of the Reveton ransomware that now includes the Pony password and virtual currency stealer and a Papras family password stealer that can also disable security programs. The new variant was also programmed to check if an infected user had visited the Web sites of 17 German banks. Source: http://www.networkworld.com/article/2466981/reveton-ransomware-upgraded-with-powerful-password-stealer.html

26. August 19, SC Magazine – (International) Bug in iOS Instagram app fixed, impacts Facebook accounts. IOActive researchers reported that an issue in the Instagram app for iOS could leave users open to having their Facebook access token intercepted over public Wi-Fi due to the app sending the token in plain text. The issue was fixed in Instagram version 6.0.4 and users were advised to update to the latest version. Source: http://www.scmagazine.com/bug-in-ios-instagram-app-fixed-impacts-facebook-accounts/article/367039/

Communications Sector

27. August 20, Harrisburg Patriot News– (Pennsylvania) Comcast outage leaves downtown Harrisburg customers without phone or internet service. About 2,800 Comcast customers in downtown Harrisburg were without phone and Internet service when the company was experiencing routing-type issues that caused the outage August 20. Employees at the Martin Luther King Government Center also lost Internet connectivity in the outage. Source: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/08/comcast_phone_internet_down_ha.html