Complete DHS Report for
May 29, 2015
Daily Report
Top Stories
· The New
York Metropolitan Transportation Authority suspended all train service between
the Rockaway Boulevard and Broad Channel Stations May 27 after discovering the
theft of 500 feet of copper May 26. – Associated Press
10. May
27, Associated Press – (New York) Theft of copper cable causes
major disruption on NYC subways. The New York Metropolitan Transportation
Authority suspended all train service between the Rockaway Boulevard and Broad
Channel Stations in Queens May 27 and replaced it with shuttle busses after
discovering the theft of 500 feet of copper cables from 12 different locations
along the tracks May 26. Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/theft-copper-cable-major-disruption-nyc-subways-31336958
· DHS and
U.S. Department of Agriculture officials broke ground May 27 to begin
construction of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility in Kansas for study
of foreign animal and emerging zoonotic diseases. – U.S. Department of
Homeland Security
14. May
27, U.S. Department of Homeland Security – (National) DHS and
USDA break ground for National Bio- and Agro- Defense Facility. DHS and
U.S. Department of Agriculture officials officially broke ground May 27 to
begin construction of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan,
Kansas, which will act as a 570,000 square foot biocontainment facility for the
study of foreign animal and emerging zoonotic diseases that threaten animal
agriculture and public health in the U.S. Source: http://www.dhs.gov/news/2015/05/27/dhs-and-usda-break-ground-national-bio-and-agro-defense-facility
· Officials
closed a portion of the Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo Beach coastlines May 27
as a precaution while several agencies collect samples to investigate an
oil-like substance that washed ashore. – KAB7 Los Angeles
17. May
27, KABC 7 Los Angeles – (California) Manhattan, Hermosa and
Redondo Beach coastline closed to public due to oil-like substance. Officials
closed a portion of Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo Beach coastlines May 27 as a
precaution while several agencies collect samples to investigate the cause,
composition, and source of an oil-like substance that washed ashore. Source: http://abc7.com/news/oil-slick-closes-large-stretch-of-manhattan-hermosa-and-redondo-beaches/745175/
· Crews
restored telecommunication services to CenturyLink customers between Carbondale
and Aspen May 27 after a severed a fiber-optic cable caused a 19-hour outage
that impacted 9-1-1, cell-phone, landline, and internet services. – Aspen
Times See
item 29 below in the Communications Sector
Financial Services Sector
3. May 28,
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette – (Arkansas) LR man reaches a deal in IRS case.
The former CEO, president, and manager of Little Rock-based Global Coal LLC
pleaded guilty May 27 to charges alleging that he fraudulently sold millions of
dollars’ worth of non-existent refined coal tax credits since starting the
company in 2010. Source: http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/may/28/lr-man-reaches-a-deal-in-irs-case-20150/
4. May 27,
Reuters – (International) World soccer rocked by U.S., Swiss arrests of
officials
for graft. Seven
Fédération Internationale de Football Association
(FIFA) officials were arrested on U.S. corruption and face extradition in
Switzerland May 27 after an investigation revealed FIFA officials were
allegedly apart of corruption involving more than $150 million in bribes over a
period of 24 years. U.S. officials reportedly plan to make more arrests in
connection to the charges and announced a criminal investigation into the
awarding of the next two World Cups. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/27/soccer-fifa-idUSL1N0YI0U620150527
5. May 27,
The Oregonian/OregonLive – (Oregon) ‘Short Stack Bandit’ pleads
guilty to 5 Portland area bank robberies. A bank robbery suspect dubbed the
“Short Stack Bandit” pleaded guilty May 26 to allegedly robbing 5 Portland-area
banks and attempting to rob another from 2013 – 2014. Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/05/short_stack_bandit_pleads_guil.html
6. May 26,
NorthJersey.com – (New Jersey) Police seeking suspect in ATM thefts at Kearny
Bank in North Arlington. Authorities are searching for a suspect that
allegedly used a skimming device to steal over $100,000 dollars from more than
128 customers of Kearny Bank in North Arlington in April. The bank plans to
reimburse affected customers. Source: http://www.northjersey.com/news/police-seeking-suspect-in-atm-thefts-at-kearny-bank-in-north-arlington-1.1342519
7. May 26,
Courthouse News Service – (Texas) Ponzi man looking at eight years
in stir. The former owner of Dallas-based GC Resources LLC pleaded guilty
May 28 to charges connected to an alleged Ponzi scheme in which he solicited
$11.8 million worth of investments in oil and gas wells that the company
neither owned nor controlled and forged contracts to fool victims. Source: http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/05/26/ponzi-man-looking-at-eight-years-in-stir.htm
Information Technology Sector
26. May 28,
Softpedia – (International) Apache Cordova glitch allows tampering with
mobile app behavior. A security researcher at Trend Micro discovered a
high-severity security flaw in Android apps built with Apache Cordova which
could allow an attacker to use locally compromised apps or remote web servers
to inject malicious intent bundles by taking advantage of default behavior
preferences in the Cordova framework. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apache-Cordova-Glitch-Allows-Tampering-with-Mobile-App-Behavior-482561.shtml
27. May 27,
Softpedia – (International) Flash Player vulnerability exploited 2 weeks
after Adobe’s patch release. Security researchers at FireEye discovered
that cybercriminals are targeting outdated versions of Adobe’s Flash player
with drive-by attacks that leverage a memory corruption vulnerability to
deliver the Bedep trojan, which initiates click-fraud activities and an
infection cycle that funnels in additional malware through redirects. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Flash-Player-Vulnerability-Exploited-2-Weeks-After-Adobe-s-Patch-Release-482475.shtml
28. May 27,
Threatpost – (International) Rockwell addresses weak password protections
in its HMI software. Rockwell Automation patched a vulnerability in its
RSView32 human machine interface (HMI) software in which an attacker with local
access could exploit weak, outdated user-defined password encryption algorithms
to reveal passwords and gain access to the automation environment. Source: https://threatpost.com/rockwell-addresses-weak-password-protections-in-its-hmi-software/113034
Communications Sector
29. May 27, Aspen Times –
(Colorado) Crews restore telecom services to Aspen after 19-hour outage. Crews
restored telecommunications services to CenturyLink customers between
Carbondale and Aspen May 27 after a third party contractor severed a
fiber-optic cable causing a 19-hour outage May 26 that impacted local 9-1-1,
cell-phone, landline, and internet services. Source: http://www.aspentimes.com/news/16533487-113/crews-restore-telecom-services-to-aspen-after-19-hour