Monday, February 9, 2015



Complete DHS Report for  February 9, 2015

Daily Report

Top Stories

 · Investigators reported February 5 that a gas leak that killed 4 workers at a DuPont chemical plant in LaPorte, Texas, in November 2014 was traced to a faulty ventilation system. – Associated Press

2. February 5, Associated Press – (Texas) Regulators: Design flaws led to DuPont plant deadly gas leak. Federal investigators reported February 5 that a gas leak that killed 4 workers at a DuPont chemical plant in LaPorte in November 2014 can be traced to a faulty ventilation system that exposed workers to more than 23,000 pounds of methyl mercaptan, a highly toxic and flammable chemical typically used in insecticides. An investigation revealed that liquid routinely built up inside the plant’s vents due to a flawed system design and that workers manually drained the system potentially exposing them to the chemicals that accumulated inside. Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/regulators-design-flaws-led-dupont-plant-deadly-gas-28752076

 · Officials reported that Scoular Co., of Omaha, Nebraska, was defrauded out of $17.2 million in June 2014 when perpetrators impersonated a company official and outside auditing firm via email and ordered the Scoular controller to wire 3 separate payments to the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank in China. – Omaha World-Herald See item 4 below in the Financial Services Sector

 · Seventeen railcars of a Canadian Pacific Railway train hauling ethanol derailed February 4 near Dubuque, Iowa, causing 3 cars to ignite and 8 cars to leak their contents, including 3 cars that fell into the Mississippi River. – Associated Press (See item 8)

8. February 5, Dubuque Telegraph Herald – (Iowa) Ethanol from derailed train leaked into Mississippi. Fifteen railcars and 2 locomotives of a Canadian Pacific Railway freight train hauling ethanol derailed February 4 near Dubuque, Iowa, causing 3 cars to ignite and at least 8 cars to leak their contents, including 3 cars that fell into the frozen Mississippi River. Crews worked to unload the derailed cars so they can be safely removed from the scene while authorities analyzed the impact of potential ethanol leakage into the river. Source: http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/state-and-regional/ethanol-from-derailed-train-leaked-into-mississippi/article_794f6b48-91a8-544f-9a65-d5f47898346f.html

 · About 1-2 gallons of ammonia spilled from a refrigeration unit inside a strawberry processing plant in Ballico, California, February 5 prompting the evacuation of about 475 employees and sending 24 workers to area hospitals. – Merced Sun-Star

10. February 5, Merced Sun-Star – (California) Ammonia spill in Ballico sends 24 to the hospital. About 1-2 gallons of liquid ammonia spilled from a refrigeration unit inside the Sierra Cascade Nursery strawberry processing plant in Ballico February 5 prompting the evacuation of about 475 employees and sending 24 workers to area hospitals. Authorities contained the spill and continue to investigate the incident while operations at the plant were scheduled to resume February 6. Source: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/article9345953.html

Financial Services Sector

4. February 5, Omaha World-Herald – (International) Impostors bilk Omaha’s Scoular Co. out of $17.2 million. Officials reported that Scoular Co., of Omaha was defrauded out of $17.2 million in June 2014 when perpetrators impersonated the company’s chief executive and outside auditing firm via email and ordered the Scoular controller to wire 3 separate payments to the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank in China, to be held for Dadi Co. Ltd. The FBI is seeking to recover the lost funds and continues to investigate the incident. Source: http://www.omaha.com/money/impostors-bilk-omaha-s-scoular-co-out-of-million/article_25af3da5-d475-5f9d-92db-52493258d23d.html

5. February 5, Los Angeles Times – (California) Suspected bank robber shot and killed by police after chase in Chino. A man who robbed the Corona branch of the Pacific Premier Bank February 4 was killed in a shootout with police after allegedly carjacking a vehicle and leading a pursuit that ended in Chino, after crashing the car. Source: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-suspected-bank-robber-shot-dead-20150205-story.html

Information Technology Sector

22. February 6, Securityweek – (International) Zero-day flaw in WordPress plugin used to inject malware into sites. WordPress patched a zero-day flaw in its FancyBox plugin after Sucuri researchers noted the vulnerability could allow attackers to inject malware or scripts into Web sites, after numerous users complained of malicious “iframe” injections on their sites. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/zero-day-flaw-wordpress-plugin-used-inject-malware-sites

23. February 6, Securityweek – (International) Adobe Flash Player security update fixes 18 vulnerabilities. Adobe released updates that patch a total of 18 Flash Player vulnerabilities, including fixes for use-after-free flaws and two types of confusion vulnerabilities. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/adobe-flash-player-security-update-fixes-18-vulnerabilities

Communications Sector

Nothing to report