Friday, November 14, 2014



Complete DHS Report for November 14, 2014

Daily Report

Top Stories
 
 · The U.S. Postal Service announced November 12 that it has shut down its secure virtual private network (VPN) and suspended all telecommuting for employees at its Washington, D.C. headquarters until further notice. – USA Today

13. November 12, USA Today – (National) Post office suspends telecommuting due to breach. The U.S. Postal Service announced November 12 that it has shut down its secure virtual private network (VPN) and suspended all telecommuting for employees at its Washington, D.C. headquarters until further notice following a breach of its employee database that compromised information of over 800,000 workers. Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/11/12/us-postal-service-suspends-telecommuting-breach-vpn/18915317/

 · Visionworks announced November 10 that a computer server containing information on about 75,000 customers went missing from its store in Annapolis, Maryland, during a June store remodeling. – Harrisburg Patriot-News

19. November 10, Harrisburg Patriot-News – (Maryland; Pennsylvania) Highmark subsidiary suffers data loss; some Pa. residents affected. Visionworks, a subsidiary of Highmark Inc., announced November 10 that a computer server containing information belonging to about 75,000 customers, including about 130 Pennsylvania residents, went missing from its store in Annapolis, Maryland, during a June store remodeling. The server contained names and addresses and some health-related information on patients, and officials do not believe the data was accessed. Source: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/11/highmark_visionworks_data_brea.html

· Officials announced November 12 that Illinois’ motor vehicle facilities will reopen November 13 following a computer outage that impacted operations at all 138 offices. – Associated Press

21. November 12, Associated Press – (Illinois) Computers go down at all state motor vehicle sites. Officials announced November 12 that Illinois’ motor vehicle facilities will reopen November 13 following a computer outage that impacted operations at all 138 offices. Technicians from IBM worked with the staff to resolve the unknown issue. Source: http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/27371404/computers-go-down-at-all-state-motor-vehicle-sites

 · Police are investigating potential links between bomb threats that were called into 5 different schools and public buildings in 5 different New Jersey towns November 12, after similar threats were made to 5 schools in the Boston area. – WNBC 4 New York City

23. November 12, WNBC 4 New York City – (New Jersey; Massachusetts) Threats phoned into 5 New Jersey high schools force evacuations, link to Boston school threats probed: Sources. Police are investigating potential links between bomb threats that were called into 5 different schools and public buildings in 5 different New Jersey towns within a 20 minute period November 12, after similar threats were made to 5 schools in the Boston area 1 hour prior to the threats in New Jersey. Nothing suspicious was found and authorities cleared the buildings. Source: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Bomb-Threats-New-Jersey-High-Schools-Evacuated-282467281.html

Financial Services Sector

6. November 12, South Florida Sun Sentinel – (Florida) Real estate broker pleads guilty to $5.5M fraud. A Fort Lauderdale man who worked as a real estate broker pleaded guilty November 12 to diverting clients’ funds, falsifying information to obtain a mortgage, and lying on his U.S. citizenship application in a case that involved over $5.5 million in fraud. Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/crime/fl-christopher-white-hearing-20141112-story.html

7. November 12, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York – (New York) Investment fund manager pleads guilty to securities fraud for operating a $17 million Ponzi scheme. A Central Islip man pleaded guilty November 10 to deceiving at least 74 investors in 3 funds he operated in order to run a $17.9 million Ponzi scheme between January 2000 and June 2009. Source: http://www.fbi.gov/newyork/press-releases/2014/investment-fund-manager-pleads-guilty-to-securities-fraud-for-operating-a-17-million-ponzi-scheme

8. November 12, Seattle Times – (Oregon; Washington) FBI: ‘Roscoe Bandit’ bank robber arrested in Oregon. Police in Grants Pass, Oregon, arrested a man November 12 believed to be the “Roscoe Bandit” responsible for four bank robberies in Washington since July 28. Source: http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2014/11/fbi-roscoe-bandit-bank-robber-arrested-in-oregon/


Information Technology Sector

25. November 13, Securityweek – (International) Mobile Pwn2Own 2014: iPhone 5s, Galaxy S5, Nexus 5, Fire Phone hacked. Researchers participating in the Mobile Pwn2Own mobile device hacking competition in Tokyo November 12-13 were able to compromise several popular smartphones and mobile devices, achieving a full sandbox escape on an iPhone 5s, successful near field communications (NFC) attacks on the Galaxy 5S, and several other successful compromises. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/mobile-pwn2own-2014-iphone-5s-galaxy-s5-nexus-5-fire-phone-hacked

26. November 12, WTNH 8 New Haven – (Connecticut) Coast Guard contractor pleads guilty to stealing personal information. A Pawcatuck man who ran a computer repair business and also worked as a contractor for the U.S. Coast Guard pleaded guilty November 12 to stealing personal information and data over 250 times from computers and other devices brought to him for repairs. Source: http://wtnh.com/2014/11/12/coast-guard-contractor-pleads-guilty-to-stealing-personal-information/

Communications Sector


27. November 13, KTVZ 21 Bend – (Oregon) Bend man arrested in hit-and-run that knocked out cable, Net. About 7,000 BendBroadband customers in the Deschutes County area were without cable, Internet, and phone service for more than 18 hours November 12 after a man crashed into a utility box and fled the scene. Authorities arrested and charged the man. Source: http://www.ktvz.com/news/apparent-bend-hitrun-knocks-out-cable-net-phones/29678002

28. November 13, KILR 1070 AM/95.9 FM Estherville – (Iowa) Phone service restored after mysterious outage in NW Iowa. An unidentified issue in Palo Alto County caused a phone service outage in Emmet, Palo Alto, and Pocahontas counties for several hours November 12. Emergency 9-1-1 service was redirected to the Dickinson County Communications Center as customers experienced difficulties receiving incoming calls. Source: http://www.radioiowa.com/2014/11/13/phone-service-restored-after-mysterious-outage-in-nw-iowa/

29. November 10, WYMT 57 Hazard – (Kentucky) Windstream internet outages put Hazard radio station off air all weekend. WKIC 97.9 FM Hazard was off air for at least 4 days due to an Internet outage that affected Windstream customers in Perry County, Kentucky. Officials worked to fix a piece of failed hardware that prompted the outage. Source: http://www.wkyt.com/wymt/home/headlines/Windstream-internet-outages-put-Hazard-radio-station-off-air-all-weekend-282186451.html