Wednesday, November 5, 2014



Complete DHS Report for November 5, 2014

Daily Report

Top Stories
 
 · The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced November 3 that Hyundai Motor Group will pay $100 million in penalties for overstating the fuel economy estimates of several Hyundai and Kia models. – CNNMoney

3. November 3, CNNMoney – (International) Hyundai and Kia to pay record EPA fine. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced November 3 that Hyundai Motor Group will pay $100 million in penalties for overstating the fuel economy estimates of several Hyundai and Kia models. The fuel mileage underestimation also caused greenhouse gas emissions to be understated over the life of the vehicles, and the company agreed to forfeit over $200 million worth of greenhouse gas emission credits and spend around $50 million to prevent future violations. Source: http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/03/autos/hyundai-kia-epa-fine/

 · The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges November 3 against two Canadian citizens for allegedly conducting a $17 million international microcap fraud scheme involving a start-up company in Tennessee. – U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission See item 5 below in the Financial Services Sector

 · A November 2 fire at a berry farm near Hillsboro, Oregon, caused an estimated $1 million in damages. – KATU 2 Portland

11. November 3, KATU 2 Portland – (Oregon) Berry farm fire causes close to $1 million in damage. A November 2 fire at a berry farm near Hillsboro, Oregon, caused an estimated $1 million in damages to a structure, berry packing machines, tractors, vehicles, and irrigation equipment. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Source: http://www.katu.com/news/local/Berry-farm-fire-1-million-281365371.html

 · Baltimore County police arrested and charged a teenage student November 3 for plotting an attack at the George Washington Carver Center for the Arts and Technology in Towson, Maryland. – Baltimore Sun

18. November 3, Baltimore Sun – (Maryland) Student accused of planning shooting at Carver Center is charged as an adult. Baltimore County police arrested and charged a teenage student November 3 for plotting an attack at the George Washington Carver Center for the Arts and Technology in Towson. Police found crude and homemade explosive devices as well as a gun at the teenager’s home after he confessed to an officer about his plan. Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/towson/bs-md-co-school-shooting-plans-20141103-story.html

Financial Services Sector

4. November 3, Securityweek – (International) New version of Backoff PoS malware appears: Fortinet. Researchers with Fortinet recently reported finding a new version of the Backoff point-of-sale (PoS) malware with the version name ROM that includes changes designed to make the malware more difficult to detect and analyze. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/new-version-backoff-pos-malware-appears-fortinet

5. November 3, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – (International) SEC charges two Canadian citizens with penny stock fraud involving Tennessee coal mining company. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges November 3 against two Canadian citizens for allegedly conducting an international microcap fraud scheme involving a start-up company in Tennessee, Americas Energy, which lured in investors with fraudulent claims and raised over $17 million in proceeds. Source: http://www.sec.gov/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370543353565

For another story, see item 25 below in the Information Technology Sector

Information Technology Sector

25. November 4, IDG News Service – (International) BlackEnergy cyberespionage group targets Linux systems and Cisco routers. Researchers with Kaspersky Lab reported that the cyberespionage group that uses the BlackEnergy malware has developed several modules for the malware that can be downloaded to infected systems to add the ability to perform port scanning, disk wiping, digital certificate theft, and other actions. The malware has compromised routers, Linux systems, and Windows systems and the group behind it targets organizations in the energy, manufacturing, banking, and education sectors as well as government agencies. Source: http://www.networkworld.com/article/2843153/blackenergy-cyberespionage-group-targets-linux-systems-and-cisco-routers.html

26. November 4, Help Net Security – (International) 227,747 new malware samples created daily. PandaLabs reported that around 20 million new strains of malware were created during the third quarter (Q3) of 2014, with trojans the most common type of malware at 78.08 percent, among other findings. Source: http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=2905

For another story, see item 4 above in the Financial Services Sector

Communications Sector

27. November 4, Northland’s NewsCenter – (Minnesota) CenturyLink outage due to fiber cut, technicians working to restore service. Thousands of CenturyLink customers across northern Minnesota remained without phone or Internet service November 4 after a fiber optic cable was damaged by a utility company working in the area November 3. Source: http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/iron-range/CenturyLink-outage-due-to-fiber-cut-technicians-working-to-restore-service-281395401.html