Friday, February 20, 2015



Complete DHS Report for February 20, 2015

Daily Report

Top Stories
 
 Four workers were injured following a February 18 explosion at an ExxonMobil oil refinery in Torrance, California, prompting a smoke and ash advisory for the surrounding area. – Orange County Register

1. February 18, Orange County Register – (California) Four injured in explosion at Torrance ExxonMobil refinery; air quality alert issued. Four workers were injured following a February 18 explosion at an ExxonMobil oil refinery in Torrance, California, prompting a smoke and ash advisory for the surrounding area. Employees were sent home after the facility was heavily damaged and authorities reported that the blast occurred in a recently installed processing facility. Source: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/refinery-651559-explosion-torrance.html

 • The Missouri State Highway Patrol responded to 178 stranded motorists and 78 crashes along Interstate 55 February 16-17 following a winter storm that dumped several inches of snow. – KFVS 12 Cape Girardeau

7. February 17, KFVS 12 Cape Girardeau – (Missouri) Several wrecks stop traffic on I-55 throughout Tuesday. The Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop E responded to 178 stranded motorists and 78 crashes along Interstate 55 February 16-17 following a winter storm that dumped several inches of snow. All lanes of the interstate reopened following a series of crashes that closed traffic in one or both directions. Source: http://www.kfvs12.com/story/28127825/i-55-at-108-mm-shut-down-after-crash

 • UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center in California reported February 18 that 179 patients may have been exposed to a drug-resistant superbug after at least 2 patients died and 5 others were infected. – KCBS 2 Los Angeles

14. February 18, KCBS 2 Los Angeles – (California) 2 of 7 patients infected die after being exposed to superbug bacteria at UCLA Medical Center. UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center in California reported February 18 that 179 patients may have been exposed to the carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae after at least 2 patients died and 5 others were infected following exposure to the drug-resistant superbug bacteria between October 2014 and January. Hospital officials stated that the potential exposure occurred during complex endoscopic procedures and that the two infected scopes were removed while the hospital undergoes deep decontamination. Source: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/02/18/2-patients-die-7-infected-after-being-exposed-to-deadly-superbug-bacteria-at-ucla-medical-center/

 • The owner of Miami-based Longcare Home Health Corporation pleaded guilty February 17 in connection to a $13 million Medicare fraud scam that involved bribes and paying kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals and fake prescriptions. – U.S. Department of Justice

15. February 17, U.S. Department of Justice – (Florida) Owner of Miami home health company pleads guilty for lead role in $13 million Medicare fraud scheme. The owner and operator of Miami-based Longcare Home Health Corporation (Longcare Home Health) pleaded guilty February 17 in connection to a $13 million Medicare fraud scam that involved bribes and paying kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries, medical clinics, doctors’ offices, and others in exchange for patient referrals and fake prescriptions to support defrauding Medicare billings. Source: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/owner-miami-home-health-company-pleads-guilty-lead-role-13-million-medicare-fraud-scheme

Financial Services Sector

Nothing to report

Information Technology Sector

24. February 19, Softpedia – (International) Over 250,000 home routers found with duplicate SSH keys. A Shodan researcher discovered that mis-configuration of devices likely led over 250,000 home routers from Spain, 200,000 routers from mostly China and Taiwan, and 150,000 routers from the U.S. and Japan to share the same Secure Shell (SSH) keys, which could allow an attacker to gain access to any device with a single key. Researchers recommended disabling SSH connectivity in the router. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Over-250-000-Home-Routers-Found-with-Duplicate-SSH-Keys-473651.shtml

25. February 19, Reuters – (International) Lenovo to stop pre-installing controversial software. Errata Security researchers determined that Superfish adware pre-installed on Lenovo computers hijacks and throws open encrypted connections, allowing hackers to seize connections and listen in through man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks. Lenovo disabled all Superfish software from its consumer computers and stopped pre-installing the software on its devices, but experts warned that systems could still be vulnerable even after uninstalling the software. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/19/us-lenovo-cybersecurity-idUSKBN0LN0XI20150219

26. February 19, Softpedia – (International) DoubleFantasy is Equation group’s first attack wave. Kaspersky analysts discovered that hackers from the cyber-espionage group Equation developed the DoubleFantasy trojan, a tool used to verify the infected system as a target and a vehicle for installing more sophisticated attack tools that could steal usernames and passwords for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox Web browsers, Windows protected storage on versions up to Windows XP, and operating system authentication subsystems on Windows Vista and above. Multiple versions of the tool were discovered, and some were deployed to targets via a post-meeting compact disk from a 2009 scientific conference in Houston. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/DoubleFantasy-Is-Equation-Group-s-First-Attack-Wave-473669.shtml

Communications Sector

Nothing to report