Wednesday, September 24, 2014



Complete DHS Report for September 24, 2014

Daily Report

Top Stories

 · A Blount County, Tennessee woman was convicted September 22 for her role in running a $46 million Ponzi scheme that resulted in losses of more than $18 million to investors. – Knoxville News Sentinel See item 7 below in the Financial Services Sector
 
 · Federal officials announced September 22 that $3.59 billion in federal funds will be distributed among more than 40 projects to improve public transportation systems that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy. – U.S. Department of Transportation

12. September 22, U.S. Department of Transportation – (National) Transportation secretary announces nearly $3.6 billion to make transit systems more resilient in New York, New Jersey, and beyond. The U.S. Transportation Secretary announced September 22 that $3.59 billion in federal disaster relief funds will be distributed among more than 40 projects across several States to improve public transportation systems that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The developments will work to make the transit systems more resilient in order to withstand the impact of future natural disasters. Source: http://www.fta.dot.gov/newsroom/news_releases/12286_16152.html
 
 · Two former Peanut Corporation of America executives and a broker were found guilty in a Georgia federal court September 19 on charges related to a 2009 Salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 700 individuals and was linked to 9 deaths. – Food Business News
 
14. September 22, Food Business News – (Georgia) Guilty verdicts in Peanut Corporation of America trial. Two former Peanut Corporation of America executives and a broker to the company were found guilty in a Georgia federal court September 19 on charges related to a 2009 Salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 700 individuals and was linked to 9 deaths. Source: http://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/news_home/Food_Safety_News/2014/09/Guilty_verdicts_in_Peanut_Corp.aspx?ID={C0335C4E-2895-4871-BC8C-256E692D3EA7}

 · Hundreds of people were evacuated from One Boston Place in Massachusetts September 22 due to a fire that broke out in pipe insulation and filled at least two floors with smoke. – Boston Globe
 
26. September 22, Boston Globe – (Massachusetts) Boston high-rise evacuated due to smoky fire. Hundreds of people were evacuated from One Boston Place, a 44-story office building in Boston, September 22 due to a fire that broke out in pipe insulation and filled at least two floors with smoke. A ventilation system was used to clear the smoke and employees were allowed to return to their offices over 2 hours later. Source: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/09/22/boston-high-rise-evacuated-due-smoky-fire-injuries-reported/sZnVWDYT2cdF5ZjVxTPXiI/story.html
 
Financial Services Sector

5. September 22, WGGB 40 Springfield – (Massachusetts) ‘Skimming’ suspect arrested at East Longmeadow bank. A Washington man was arrested September 21 when he illegally entered a TD Bank branch in East Longmeadow to retrieve two skimming devices that he installed on an entry access point and an ATM at the location in order to steal personal and financial information from customers. The bank is working with law enforcement to notify all customers impacted by the devices. Source: http://www.wggb.com/2014/09/22/skimming-suspect-arrested-at-east-longmeadow-bank/

6. September 22, Associated Press – (New Jersey) Bank teller admits role in tax check fraud scheme. A Middlesex woman pleaded guilty September 22 to her role in a tax check scheme that defrauded the U.S. Treasury Department out of more than $900,000 while she worked as a teller at a bank in Perth Amboy. The former employee would receive income tax return checks from her conspirators and cash the checks against unknowing third-party accounts at the bank. Source: http://www.nbc40.net/story/26595530/bank-teller-admits-role-in-tax-check-fraud-scheme

7. September 22, Knoxville News Sentinel – (Tennessee) Businesswoman convicted in $46 million Ponzi scheme. A Blount County woman was convicted September 22 for her role in running a $46 million Ponzi scheme that resulted in losses of more than $18 million to investors. The woman worked with six co-conspirators to trick investors into buying bogus annuities from a fake business over the course of 10 years. Source: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/local-news/businesswoman-convicted-in-46-million-ponzi-scheme_94762554

8. September 22, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – (Florida) Wells Fargo advisors admits failing to maintain controls and producing altered document, agrees to pay $5 million penalty. Wells Fargo Advisors LLC agreed to pay a $5 million penalty September 22 to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges claiming that the company failed to maintain adequate controls to prevent insider trading. The agreement was reached after the SEC charged a former Wells Fargo broker for trading on nonpublic information obtained from a client ahead of that customer being acquired by a private equity firm. Source: http://www.sec.gov/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370543012047

Information Technology Sector

22. September 23, Techworld – (International) DDoS attackers turn fire on ISPs and gaming servers. NSFOCUS researchers determined gaming hosts and Internet service Providers (ISP) have been the focus for distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks in 2014, rising in the first half to 10 percent and nearly 15 percent of attacks respectively. Source: http://www.networkworld.com/article/2687127/security/ddos-attackers-turn-fire-on-isps-and-gaming-servers.html

23. September 23, Help Net Security – (International) jQuery.com compromised to serve malware via drive-by download. RiskIQ researchers found and reported that jQuery.com, the official Web site of the cross-platform JavaScript library of the same name, was compromised and redirected its visitors to a site hosting the RIG exploit kit and delivered information-stealing malware. The attack was discovered September 18 and the site’s administrators removed the malicious script. Source: http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=2869

24. September 22, Threatpost – (International) Kyle and Stan malvertising network nine times bigger than first reported. Researchers found nearly 6,500 malicious domains are involved in the Kyle and Stan malvertising network and over 31,000 connections were made to the domains, nine times larger than originally reported by Cisco. The campaign is unique in its ability to infect Windows and Mac OS X software differently and can drop ads on larger Web sites. Source: http://threatpost.com/kyle-and-stan-malvertising-network-nine-times-bigger-than-first-reported

Communications Sector

25. September 23, KVVU 5 Henderson – (Nevada) Cut line disrupts Century Link service for some. Phone, Internet, landline 9-1-1, and Prism TV services were disrupted for Century Link customers in the Las Vegas and Mt. Charleston areas September 23 after a construction crew cut a fiber optic line. Technicians worked to restore service. Source: http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/26605574/cut-line-disrupts-century-link-service-for-some