Friday, February 13, 2015



Complete DHS Report for February 13, 2015

Daily Report

Top Stories

 · The U.S. Congress approved legislation February 11 to expedite the Keystone XL pipeline, an $8 billion project that would transport oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, through Nebraska and into the Gulf Coast. – Portland Press Herald

1. February 12, Portland Press Herald – (International) Congress OKs Keystone pipeline bill. The U.S. Congress approved legislation February 11 to expedite the Keystone XL pipeline, an $8 billion project that would transport oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, through Nebraska and into the Gulf Coast. Source: http://www.pressherald.com/2015/02/12/congress-oks-keystone-pipeline-bill/

 · A former candidate for governor and his girlfriend were arrested and charged during the week of February 2 for allegedly stealing more than $11 million from investors in New York and North Carolina and attempting to defraud banks of $8 million between February 2009 and July 2013. – Boston Globe See item 6 below in the Financial Services Sector

 · The California Department of Public Health issued a fine of $50,000 February 11 to the Loma Linda University Medical Center after an intern placed a feeding tube in a patient’s lung and caused the patient’s death in 2010.– San Bernardino Sun

16. February 11, San Bernardino Sun – (California) State fines Loma Linda University Medical Center $50,000 after resident’s mistake. The California Department of Public Health announced February 11 that a $50,000 fine was issued to the Loma Linda University Medical Center after an intern placed a feeding tube in a patient’s lung instead of the stomach in 2010, causing the patient’s death. Public health officials fined two other Riverside County hospitals and a hospital in Los Angeles County after investigating and finding that the facilities’ were not in compliance with licensing requirements. Source: http://www.sbsun.com/health/20150211/state-fines-loma-linda-university-medical-center-50000-after-residents-mistake

 · A former Huntsville Emergency Medical Services, Inc., (HEMSI) employee was arrested February 10 in connection to starting a fire February 7 that destroyed the HEMSI station in Huntsville. – WAFF 48 Huntsville

22. February 11, WAFF 48 Huntsville – (Alabama) Former EMT arrested for HEMSI station fire. A former Huntsville Emergency Medical Services, Inc., (HEMSI) employee was arrested February 10 in connection to starting a fire February 7 that destroyed the HEMSI station in Huntsville. The former employee was fired in February 2014 and is also connected to other ambulance burglaries in the area and surrounding counties. Source: http://www.wsfa.com/story/28082400/former-hemsi-employee-arrested-for-hemsi-station-fire

Financial Services Sector

5. February 12, PC World – (International) Several PayPal-mimicking phishing sites taken offline. OpenDNS researchers found a number of phishing Web sites that appear as legitimate PayPal sites being used to steal user’s login credentials. PayPal is working to shut down the fraudulent sites. Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2883472/many-paypal-lookalike-phishing-websites-taken-offline.html

6. February 11, Boston Globe – (New York; North Carolina) Ex-GOP candidate for governor facing fraud charges. A former candidate for governor and his girlfriend were arrested and charged during the week of February 2 for allegedly stealing more than $11 million from investors in New York and North Carolina and attempting to defraud banks of $8 million by submitting fake tax returns and inflated pay stubs in 3 schemes between February 2009 and July 2013. The pair allegedly promised investors that their money was being used to buy and consolidate other investments firms while the funds were being used for pair’s personal use and other business ventures. Source: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/02/11/john-lakian-former-gop-candidate-for-governor-arrested-fraud-charges-new-york/C44UUdidHb9MvCLnxr9DMO/story.html

Information Technology Sector

26. February 12, Securityweek – (International) Google Play, browser flaws expose Android devices to remote code execution. Researchers at Rapid7 reported that vulnerabilities in Google Play due to a lack of appropriate X-Frame-Options (XFO) headers combined with a universal cross-site scripting (UXSS) vulnerability in browsers shipped with Android versions prior to 4.4 (KitKat), or a cross-site scripting (XSS) bug in Google Play, could be leveraged by attackers to remotely install arbitrary Android application packages (APKs) on smartphones. Attacks can be prevented by logging out of the Google account prior to using the affected browsers, or by using Mozilla FireFox or Chrome instead. Source: http://www.securityweek.com/google-play-browser-flaws-expose-android-devices-remote-code-execution

27. February 11, Softpedia – (International) Simplocker ransomware for Android returns with new version. Avast researchers reported that over 5,000 unique users were infected by a newly discovered Simplocker ransomware variant for Android that poses as an Adobe Flash Player update, employs unique encryption keys to make unlocking difficult, and displays a fake notification from the FBI about suspicious files and copyright infringement to fool victims into paying the $200 ransom. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Simplocker-Ransomware-for-Android-Returns-with-New-Version-472890.shtml

For another story, see item 5 above in the Financial Services Sector

Communications Sector

28. February 11, KHON 2 Honolulu – (Hawaii) Phone, internet restored to 20,000+ in Kona, including 911. Hawaiian Telecom landline telephone and Internet services were restored in the Kona area from Waikoloa to Pahala February 11 after a severed fiber optic cable affected approximately 20,000 phone and 5,500 Internet customers and downed 9-1-1 services for more than 6 hours. Technicians laid more than 500 feet of new cable as they worked to repair the severed line and restore service. Source: http://khon2.com/2015/02/11/phone-internet-outage-affects-20000-in-kona-including-911-2/