Monday, January 5, 2015



Complete DHS Report for January 5, 2015

Daily Report

Top Stories

 · A December 31 fire at Norman Crooks Farms in Stanton, Michigan, damaged all of the potato farm’s storage buildings that housed millions of dollars of farm equipment and millions of potatoes. – WZZM 13 Grand Rapids

10. January 1, WZZM 13 Grand Rapids – (Michigan) Potato farmers: Fire just a bump in the road. A December 31 fire at Norman Crooks Farms in Stanton, Michigan, damaged all of the potato farm’s storage buildings that housed millions of dollars of farm equipment and millions of potatoes. Crews worked to clear the scene which included the disposal of unburned potatoes that absorbed toxic smoke. Source: http://www.wzzm13.com/story/news/local/2015/01/01/crooks-potato-farm-fire/21170199/

· Federal officials reported December 30 that Seattle-based Pink’s Ice Cream LLC issued a recall for all ice cream flavors produced in 2014 with the exception of Coconut Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert as a result of a Listeria monocytogenes contamination found at the company’s dairy supplier. – U.S. Food and Drug Administration

16. December 31, U.S. Food and Drug Administration – (Washington) Pink’s Ice Cream recalls all ice cream flavors except the Coconut Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert because of possible health risk. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported December 30 that Seattle-based Pink’s Ice Cream LLC issued a recall for all ice cream flavors produced in 2014 with the exception of Coconut Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert as a result of a Listeria monocytogenes contamination found at the company’s dairy supplier, Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream. The affected products were packaged in 16-ounce and 1-gallon containers and distributed to grocery stores and restaurants in the Puget Sound area of Washington. Source: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm428525.htm

·The Hayden Area Regional Sewer Board in Idaho is investigating potential effects on groundwater and nearby wells after about 100,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled onto the city’s streets January 1 due to a ruptured pipe. – Associated Press

17. January 1, Associated Press – (Idaho) 100,000 gallons of sewage spill in northern Idaho. The Hayden Area Regional Sewer Board is investigating potential effects on groundwater and nearby wells after about 100,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled onto the city’s streets January 1 due to a ruptured pipe. Local traffic was rerouted for 9 hours while crews cleared the scene. Source: http://www.kxly.com/news/north-idaho-news/100000-gallons-of-sewage-spill-in-northern-idaho/30492604

·A former employee at the Pasadena Department of Public Works in California and 2 others were arrested December 30 and charged in connection to using a city hall fund to embezzle $6.4 million in taxpayer dollars over a decade. – Pasadena Star-News

20. January 1, Pasadena Star-News – (California) Pasadena ex-employee suspected of stealing $6M in city funds; scandal larger than previous case. A former management analyst at the Pasadena Department of Public Works and two others were arrested December 30 and charged in connection to using a city hall fund to embezzle $6.4 million in taxpayer dollars over a decade. The former city worker allegedly wrote nearly 300 fraudulent invoices to the city on behalf of 4 fake vendors, causing the city to issue 189 checks from one of its accounts. Source: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/general-news/20141230/pasadena-ex-employee-suspected-of-stealing-6m-in-city-funds-scandal-larger-than-bell-case

Financial Services Sector

5. December 31, Providence Journal – (Rhode Island; New York) New York man charged with credit card fraud. A New York man was arrested and charged December 25 after authorities discovered 126 fraudulent credit cards inside his vehicle during a traffic stop on Route 95 in West Greenwich. Source: http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20141231-new-york-man-charged-with-credit-card-fraud.ece

Information Technology Sector

27. December 31, The Register – (International) Want to have your server pwned? Easy: Run PHP. A researcher with Google discovered that more than 78 percent of all PHP installations were running with at least one known vulnerability after correlating statistics from a Web survey site that lists known vulnerabilities in various versions of PHP. The latest releases of PHP 5.4, 5.5, and 5.6 were all believed to be secure. Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/12/31/want_to_have_your_server_pwned_easy_run_php/

28. December 31, Threatpost – (International) WordPress Symposium plug-in plagued by file upload vulnerability. Researchers with Trustwave SpiderLabs and Sucuri discovered and have been monitoring a number of exploit attempts in their honeypot and scans for a vulnerability in WordPress Symposium and the public availability of proof-of-concept exploit code that allows an attacker to upload files without authentication to sites running Symposium. Researchers found the latest versions of WordPress Symposium from both the WordPress Web site and the WPSymposium site were still vulnerable and the company announced the plug-in was downloaded more than 150,000 times. Source: http://threatpost.com/wordpress-symposium-plug-in-plagued-by-file-upload-vulnerability/110166

Communications Sector

29. January 1, WPLG 10 Miami – (Florida) Massive internet, cable outage affects thousands in south Florida. Internet and cable service was restored to thousands of Atlantic Broadband customers in Miami Beach, Aventura, and South Miami January 1 about 22 hours after a car struck an electrical pole and severed a main fiber cable. Source: http://www.local10.com/news/massive-internet-and-cable-outage-affecting-thousands/30488370