Wednesday, November 19, 2014



Complete DHS Report for November 19, 2014

Daily Report

Top Stories

 • A severe winter storm in the Buffalo, New York area November 18 prompted authorities to close a 105-mile stretch of the New York State Thruway Interstate 90 and numerous schools in the area to cancel classes. – Associated Press

5. November 18, Associated Press – (New York) Parts of New York blanketed in nearly 3 feet of snow; stretch of Thruway closed. A severe winter storm in the Buffalo, New York area November 18 prompted authorities to close a 105-mile stretch of the New York State Thruway Interstate 90 between Rochester to Dunkirk along with several other major highways due to hazardous road conditions. Numerous schools in the area cancelled classes while officials issued a driving ban for parts of the city. Source: http://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2014/11/parts_of_new_york_blanketed_in.html
 
 • More than 100 schools in Kentucky were closed November 17 due to a winter storm that produced frigid temperatures and heavy snowfall. – Louisville Courier-Journal

19. November 17, Louisville Courier-Journal – (Kentucky) Snow closes area schools; cold on the way. More than 100 schools in Kentucky were closed November 17 due to a winter storm that produced frigid temperatures and heavy snowfall. Source: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2014/11/17/louisville-school-closings/19158109/
 
 • A fire at the Anderson Villas apartments in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, November 17 knocked out power to about 3,000 DTE customers, including 4 schools and prompted an evacuation of the complex with an estimated $100,000 in damages. – Ann Arbor News

26. November 18, Ann Arbor News – (Michigan) Apartment complex fire sparks power outages throughout Ypsilanti area. A fire that broke out November 17 inside a laundry room at the Anderson Villas apartments in Ypsilanti Township prompted an overnight evacuation of residents and caused an estimated $100,000 in damage. The fire knocked out power to about 3,000 DTE customers for more than 9 hours before service was restored November 18, including to 4 schools that closed as a result of the outage. Source: http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2014/11/apartment_complex_fire_sparks.html
 
 • A 3-alarm fire at Hunter Landscaping, a warehouse in Grand Terrace, California, November 17 caused a roof to collapse and an estimated $1 million in damages. – San Bernardino County Sun

29. November 17, San Bernardino County Sun – (California) Three-alarm fire causes $1 million damage to Grand Terrace building. A 3-alarm fire at a Hunter Landscaping warehouse in Grand Terrace November 17 caused an estimated $1 million in damage. The warehouse was set to be red-tagged because 90 percent of the structure was damaged and the building’s roof collapsed in the fire. Source: http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20141117/three-alarm-fire-causes-1-million-damage-to-grand-terrace-building
 
Financial Services Sector

3. November 17, Lansing State Journal – (Michigan) DeWitt man pleads in fraud scheme that netted millions. A DeWitt man pleaded guilty November 14 to his role in a mortgage fraud scheme centered on CDC Investments that has led to over $14 million in ordered restitution. The man admitted to working with others at the company to fraudulently obtain a $1.57 million loan on a property in West Bloomfield. Source: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2014/11/17/dehaven-plea-mortgage-fraud/19173301/

4. November 17, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – (International) SEC charges three penny stock promoters behind pump-and-dump schemes. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against a Florida man, a Maryland man, and a man based in Canada for allegedly coordinating promotional efforts to run a pump-and-dump penny stocks scheme that resulted in over $10 million in illicit gains. Source: http://www.sec.gov/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370543470309

Information Technology Sector

23. November 18, Securityweek – (International) New variant of Matsnu trojan uses configurable DGA. Researchers from Seculert found that a new variant of the Matsnu trojan (also known as Trustezeb) is using a configurable Domain Generation Algorithm (DGA) to attempt to create domain names that won’t be detected by phonetic algorithms designed to look for nonsensical domain names. The malware can be instructed to take various actions, including downloading and executing files, updating itself, and reporting its status to its controllers. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/new-variant-matsnu-trojan-uses-configurable-dga

24. November 17, Securityweek – (International) Research finds 1 percent of online ads malicious. Researchers from universities in the U.S., U.K., and Germany presenting at the 2014 Internet Measurement Conference reported that their research looked at 600,000 online advertisements on 40,000 Web sites over a 3 month period and found that 1 percent of advertisements were malicious. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/research-finds-1-percent-online-ads-malicious
 
Communications Sector

Nothing to report